Sir, – Throughout this mediocre presidential campaign, the lingering legacy may be the desperation of both the press and some candidates’ camps to find some skeletons in the closets of various candidates.
We have had a focus on terrorists, quangos, paedophilia and even extra-State nationals. However, I find it bizarre that the biggest and only stick being used to hit Seán Gallagher is that he is a former (or even not former) member of Fianna Fáil. Is] that all you got?”
Did I miss something or was Fianna Fáil included in the Treaty of Versailles ([sic] not even formed then) to the point where it is now not allowed to have a critical mass of members or freedom of organisation? Was Fianna Fáil the Gestapo or involved in some form of genocide and now blacklisted by the insipid UN? Since when is being a member of Fianna Fáil a crime on any level? We, members of Fianna Fáil, have humbly taken the medicine that was not ours to take but instead was the dose that was due to some of our embarrassing uncles.
However, I find it hard to digest the constant intimation that to have ever been a member of Fianna Fáil should be a slight on your character or regarded as a skeleton in any closet.
I have never met Mr Gallagher, I do not know the man, and I have also not yet decided who I might vote for in the election, however, I do believe in fair play and in integrity.
I will not point any fingers at the source of the campaigns of scandal which have embarrassed this presidential campaign, but the behaviour of a certain Government party in polarising Irish politics is short-sighted, badly timed and not even the least bit subtle or in the best interests of the Irish people, nor befitting the office of president. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Dana has declared under oath that she is willing to bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law. In the unlikely event of the United States declaring war on Ireland (or vice versa) and the even more unlikely event of Dana being elected president of Ireland, an interesting situation could arise. Would President Dana be prepared to attack Irish soldiers under her command if ordered to do so by her commander-in-chief in the White House? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Apart from being entertained, tabloid style, by gossip, slogans and insults, few voters have serious insights into where the candidates stand on the big issues facing the country. Does anyone know (for instance) the detail of what each of the presidential candidates thinks about governance and structural reform in the banking and parliamentary sectors and whether or not they favour an open, independent review of our offshore resources policy? In other words, which, if any, of the candidates would tend to identify with ordinary taxpayers and which candidates would tend to be establishment poodles?
Given the type of legislation we’ll be hit with over the next few years, I’d like to know where each candidate stands on such issues.
Or does that not make for good TV? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – A correspondent (October 10th), when referring to Dana’s right to Irish citizenship, translated ius solis as “law of the sun”.
That doesn’t make sense. The true translation is “right of the soil”, ie, right by virtue of being born in Ireland.
No, I’ve nothing better to do than correct people’s Latin. – Yours, etc,
Sir, — Questions about Martin McGuinness’s past life are now, apparently, off bounds as brilliantly illustrated in Martyn Turner’s “Don’t talk about the war” cartoon (Opinion, October 7th).
Presumably, then, Mr McGuinness is prepared to answer some questions about his present views on matters of current public interest. The status in Irish society of his former comrades-in-arms in the illegal organisation which he assures us he left in 1974 is one contemporary issue that he has been strangely silent on.
Are they, in his view, to be honoured as Irish military heroes? Does he consider that they have equivalent national standing and should receive the same national military honours, medals, decorations etc. as, for instance, members of our Defence Forces who have served or are serving with the United Nations on peacekeeping missions in the Lebanon and elsewhere? Finally, does Mr McGuinness believe that the Irish taxpayer should be asked to take on the burden of funding military service or other pensions for himself and his erstwhile comrades?
The voters, including the relatives and friends of the victims of the awful atrocities perpetrated by these “heroes”, deserve some answers from Mr McGuinness and his political backers before they mark their ballot papers in the presidential election. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I would urge pensioners and those currently contributing to a private pension fund, who have had their fund raided by this Fine Gael/Labour Government, not to support either of their candidates in the coming elections or in any election that takes place while this unfair and unjustified private sector pension levy is in place. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – There have been several unkind letters alluding to the “magnificent seven” as being analogous to Snow White’s little friends. People have been pondering on which one is Happy or Grumpy, etc. One thing is certain, none of them are Bashful. – Yours, etc,