Prof Mary McAleese still had questions to answer over her alleged views on Sinn Fein, the Labour leader, Mr Dick Spring, said yesterday. As a self-professed "bridgebuilder" in the context of Northern Ireland, she was "unwise and foolish" to have attended Fianna Fail's commemoration in Bodenstown at the weekend, he added.
She must answer "in an open and candid fashion" the questions put to her by the media about the weekend revelations, he added. She had a duty to the electorate to do this.
Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, said the images from Galway showing Prof McAleese "surrounded by a protective phalanx of Fianna Fail and PD minders and refusing to even acknowledge the presence of the media" did not suggest a candidate or campaign open to press scrutiny.
While he did not dispute her right to hold her views on Northern Ireland, these views as reported had raised "very serious questions" about her bridge-building qualities and "render laughable her claim that Northern unionists were delighted by her nomination".