Nice to know that my memory is not playing false. Thank you for that, Ard Macha.

As for the notion that there are people in this country unaware of the Civil War (or the 'parting of the ways', to use one of my favourite euphemisms) it is a possibility, I suppose. 'Invincible ignorance' might describe this condition. After all, there are people who insist that the earth is flat. But how exactly does anyone manage to live on this island and not have heard of the Civil War? The two major political parties in the 26 Counties are the product of that conflict. In some pubs I have met people who are still fighting that struggle. And yet there are possibly one or two innocents who are unaware of this event. How did these innocents avoid the film 'Michael Collins' in cinemas, on television, video or dvd? And even if they avoided the film, how did they miss the endless discussions and commentaries that infested our newspapers, radio and television? This is not simply invincible ignorance, this is ignorance on a heroic scale.