Madam, - Prompted by Vincent Browne's column on the President (Opinion, August 25th) may I suggest a candidate who is neither bland nor insipid and would never make the Áras into a centre of anaesthesiology: David Norris? He had both the will and the skill single-handedly to drag official Ireland from its institutionalised homophobia and thereby gave courage to all minorities who felt left out of society.
His concern for human rights did not end with his own rights as a gay citizen, but has spread to the Middle East and East Timor; he has maintained a consistent stand against war (whether at home or abroad), together with a warm empathy for women and an understanding of the need for women's unwaged work (particularly in the home and bringing up children) to be properly paid for.
He needs 20 TDs to sponsor him as a candidate for President: it would be wonderful if Labour, Greens and Independents (even Sinn Féin, if they are serious in their protestations of politics, not guns) should come together in this cause.
If we really want a presidency that effectively reflects contemporary concerns - e.g. the erosion of the Constitution re international affairs, Shannon airport and the encroachments of the armament industry - voters should also have some say in the membership of the Council of State, which is there to advise the President on exactly such matters. People of the calibre of Denis Halliday should certainly be part of any truly new team. - Yours, etc.,
MARGARETTA D'ARCY, Gort Roe, Corrandulla, Co Galway.