evidence: A chara, – John Horgan's interesting Irishman's Diary (October 11th) reminded me of a dispute concerning Lough Foyle dating back 40 years. [...] To the British, the waters of Lough Foyle were consolidated into the county of Derry in the 17th century and remained so. Countering this, a Dublin civil servant noted: "the territorial seas of the whole island, which were included in the territory which passed under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 did not and could not ‘opt out’; only the administrative areas of counties could – and six did – opt out. The territorial seas around these counties remained territorial seas of the new State and still do so." Minister for Justice Gerry Collins insisted Nellie M was sunk in the Republic’s waters and ordered that a 25-inch map be placed in the Dáil library showing the line between British and Irish waters. The British embassy in Dublin, on hearing this, wrote to Whitehall that this would be a difficult feat for Mr Collins as no such map existed! [...] Issues like the Lough Foyle demarcation have a tendency to come to the fore like Hemingway’s description of bankruptcy: gradually, then suddenly. –Is mise,