Sir, – It must be apparent by now that David Norris is the only possible candidate that can keep Martin McGuinness out of the Phoenix Park.
But look at all the hoops he has to go through to try get his name on the ballot paper. If nothing else, this election has highlighted a glaring flaw in the Constitution by pinpointing the advantage political parties have in nominating candidates.
At this stage it is almost irrelevant (and I do stress almost) whether David Norris is our next president or not (personally, I hope he is), but one way or the other he has yet again done the State a great service (unlike the last gentleman to make such a claim) and shown how we must move forward.
Changing the rules for presidential candidates will require a referendum, but there is time for a Government with the largest majority in the history of the State to have a proposal ready for the next election date. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – So Alan Shatter feels Martin McGuinness is not fit for the Park because he did not embrace the Queen of England’s visit or put his nose in the trough at Dublin Castle? Please tell Mr Shatter that Mr McGuinness has no interest in being a viceroy. – Yours, etc,
Sir – The strategists in Fine Gael and certain media commentators seem to have decided the best way to defeat Martin McGuinness is to attack him on the basis of his role in the IRA.
Several IRA atrocities, of which many voters will have no memory, have been mentioned in recent days with the objective of discrediting his candidature. It is right that these actions should never be forgotten.
However, I fear that attacking Mr McGuinness in this way may be counterproductive. The more this past is resurrected, the greater will be the perceived distance between his role then and his undoubted positive contribution in more recent times. Consequently, in the minds of those with no memory of those dark days, he may attract even greater credit for having made an even greater transition to his current position. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – As a Minister of the present Government deems Mr McGuinness to be an “inappropriate” person to be president, would it not also be “inappropriate” for this Minister to serve under Mr McGuinness in the event of his election? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Having worked and paid my taxes for 40 years, I now find myself, at 58, unemployed and with the pension scheme that I was a member of being wound up. So, finding myself jobless, and at my age unlikely ever to get back into the workforce, and with my pension gone, why shouldn’t I kick the system up the backside and vote for the “Provo” Mr McGuinness? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – It seems to me that there are two issues to consider with the candidacy of Mr McGuinness. First, he seems to be a man with some very strongly held principles, as recently demonstrated by his refusal to meet the Queen of England while she was a guest of the Irish people. For the most part, it is admirable to stay true to oneself. However, that type of behaviour is not part of the job description for the position he wishes to fill. It is not within the president’s remit to decide who to meet and who to snub.
The second point to consider, of course, is that if Mr McGuinness does abandon his principles in order to become president, well, we wouldn’t really want him there then, would we? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – EF Fanning (September 24th) proclaims that “we, as a nation, are a bunch of hypocrites”. He cites the popular assessment that the recent visit of Queen Elizabeth was proof “that we, as a nation, had matured and moved on” and contrasts that with the hostile reaction of “our politicians, establishment figures and media” to the entry of Martin McGuinness to the presidential race.
Perhaps it’s worth pointing out that, while the War of Independence ended 90 years ago, it’s only seven years since the Northern Bank robbery. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – With Mattie McGrath’s polling his election workers before taking the decision not to support the presidential nomination of Senator David Norris (Home News, September 26th), the question remains if he is going to follow the same method for every decision he makes in his time in Dáil Éireann. – Yours, etc,