  According to McKay (1980) the irreducible characters of finite subgroups of
SU(2) are in a natural 1-1 correspondence with the extended Coxeter-Dynkin
graphs of type ADE. We show that the character values themselves can be given
by an uniform formula, as special values of polynomials which arise naturally
as numerators of Poincare series associated to finite subgroups of SU(2) acting
on polynomials in two variables. These polynomials have been the subject of a
number of investigations, but their interpretation as characters has apparently
not been noticed.
