The Barrington thread as such ceased in the 40s as far as JJ was concerned, but I retain it in quotes as a location in which to put his later pamphleteering, where he attempted to popularise economic concepts and attitudes which were outside the current conventional wisdom.

I include here 'The Sickness of the Irish Economy', which he published in 1957, with the support of the Irish Association, and with an introduction by Sir Graham Larmour. This is also referenced from the Irish Association (IA) thread; it could be said that in the 50s the IA became his platform for his analysis of Irish economics, the emphasis being on the disastrous effects of Partition, and his attempt via the IA to keep alive some all-Ireland intellectual contacts.

There is a letter in JJ's papers from Thekla Beere, dated January 5 1960; he must have written congratulating her on her promotion to a senior position in the Department of Transport and Power. She mentions that she had joined the Civil Service, on his advice; this would have been before the Free State existed, as she was a contemporary and close friend of my aunt Anne, who joined at about the same time.

JJ must have made the case against Todd Andrews (Head of CIE) policy of closure of railways, homing in on the Naas rail link, which he identified as having development potential, with Naas becoming a satellite town of Dublin. He had also made a case in favour of maintenance of the canals. The letter is basically a civil put-down.

I seem to remember that JJ was active at the level of letters to the press on these issues, so it seems to be appropriate to mention this here in the 'outreach' thread, rather than in the actual 'political' thread. He was promoting a rational approach to the defence of public amenity against the threat of undermining by the rise and rise of road transport.

Some navigational notes:

Copyright Dr Roy Johnston 1999