Madam, - Vincent Browne (Opinion, August 25th) berates the President for an excess of "Céad Mile Fáiltes, bodhráns. . . and interminable tedium". He excoriates her for operating without confrontation and for seeking consensus.
Clearly, Mr Browne is either too stubborn or too witless to realise that, yes, this is a presidency of conciliation.
President McAleese and her husband Martin have worked quietly, with dignity and most effectively, to make Áras an Uachtaráin a more inclusive and welcoming place. She has reached out to many groups on the margins. In particular, she has established links with unionists and loyalists and has changed mindsets and dispelled harmful myths and misconceptions.
At a time when the peace process is staggering from one political crisis to the next, how reassuring and essential it is that she carries out this work. So, let's have another seven years of the McAleese presidency and far, far less of Browne's crass, nasty and frankly ludicrous tripe. - Yours, etc,
KIERAN McLOUGHLIN, Sorrento Court, Dalkey, Co Dublin.