Sir, – Your article headlined "Higgins apologises to family of deported Irishman" (September 5th) left me confused as to whether or not a State apology has been issued in the case of Jimmy Gralton, who was the only Irish citizen ever deported from Ireland. The text of your article quoted the President as saying that "an apology is due", which to my mind is quite different from giving an apology.
The President was speaking to a group of Gralton supporters and was presumably under pressure to say what they wanted to hear. I hope an apology has not been given, not because Jimmy Gralton does not deserve it, but because as a matter of principle we should not rush into reversing the actions of a previous government without careful examination. Surely only the current Government, not the President, has the authority to apologise for a previous government’s errors. – Yours, etc,
LESLIE LAWLESS,
Dublin 4.