Sir, - It was my intention to abstain in the presidential election because I fail to see the relevance of the office. Then I decided to cast my vote for Adi Roche because she is the most left-wing candidate. However, I have now decided to vote for Mary McAleese. I do this with reluctance as I oppose the policies espoused by Professor McAleese in most areas.
However, the election is no longer about electing a successor to Mary Robinson. It has been turned into a plebiscite on the composition of the Irish nation. The attacks on Professor McAleese are an attack on the belief that the Irish nation extends beyond the borders of the Republic. Mary Robinson reached out to the Irish diaspora and many emigrants and the children of emigrants felt included for the first time. Now if the Free State faction, as represented by Fine Gael, Derek Nally and Eoghan Harris, have their way, the concept of Irishness will be narrowed. Yet they claim the mantle of Mary Robinson as they strive to exclude those born in Northern Ireland.
Dick Spring threw in his lot with the Free Staters when he suggested it was unwise of Professor McAleese to have attended the Fianna Fail commemoration in Bodenstown (Irish Times, October 21st). By going to Bodenstown, Professor McAleese paid homage to Wolfe Tone and to the ideals of the United Irishmen who sought to unite the different traditions on this island. Surely that is still a noble sentiment. - Yours, etc.,
From Jim Corcoran
Gurranabraher, Cork City.