Talk about starting a row in an empty house, Annraoi! And I thought this thread was supposed to be a bit of light relief, after the ups and downs of that last one from Conrad. Anyway, you've struck a raw nerve with Big Mick - never seen him in this mood before...

So what about O'Neill, Mick? I thought he was a sergeant, but Martin Ryan says Captain, which on reflection sounds right. Or am I thinking of the one who did too little too late in 1969? As for publishing the tunes, I heard he got his beat officers to do most of the work on that front. I never knew he saved language too. I thought that was down to prods like Douglas Hyde.*BG* (O'Neill could have been a prod too, for all I know or care - whatever he was, I salute his - yes, instrumental - role in saving the music.