Sir, – I was in the Frontlineaudience the night that Seán Gallagher's presidential bid was destroyed.
I and my colleagues were there to support Dana and sat with Fine Gael supporters to the panel’s left. Having participated in two similar RTÉ shows I found it a strange experience. Having driven down that evening from Buncrana we had been almost the first to arrive. Nobody seemed to be able to direct us. We were ushered into three different reception rooms in quick succession. No question cards were issued until I requested them. None were collected until we handed them in. I got the impression even then that we had driven 200 miles to sit as mere decoration.
All staff seemed strangely preoccupied and off-balance.
The programme was conducted in an infuriating way. The only questions that were taken were from the centre one of the three seating groups. The centre was populated by people in their late teens and early 20s. We heard from other participants that this was mostly if not all composed of Foróige youth delegation. Flailing our hands with outraged facial expressions was to no avail. No notice was taken of us.
Both I and the Fine Gael supporters behind me ended up breaking the restraints of good manners by shouting queries verging on insults at both Pat Kenny and his floor manager during the ad breaks. But these top-of-the-voice insults were like water off a duck’s back to these guys.
Meanwhile, I was mesmerised at the technical detail of some of the book-keeping and accountancy questions that had been directed at Seán Gallagher by what looked like a 22-year-old.
Even when the programme was over, none of us realised the moment of what had happened in front of our eyes. I was reminded of the old adage: some people make things happen, some watch them happen and the rest wonder what happened. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Can we have a re-run of the presidential election, with the Frontlinedebate and infamous tweet excluded? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – While some might feel a sense of miscarried justice on behalf of Seán Gallagher, I personally am finding his protestations somewhat hollow. While RTÉ certainly needs to examine its procedural systems for verifying sources of information, and any biased manipulation of the direction and tenor of a discussion is to be flatly rebutted, Mr Gallagher’s cry that the revelations ask “the most fundamental questions about the trustworthiness and impartiality of our national broadcaster” is rich.
What emerged about Mr Gallagher’s behaviour in so much that he was a bagman for Fianna Fáil, having repeatedly denied this, asks the most fundamental questions about the trustworthiness and impartiality of his candidature for the highest office in the country. – Yours, etc,