Letters: Protection of children was never Citywest protesters’ priority – they just wanted to sow havoc
I wish to join Ms Cairns in condemning the awful scenes we witnessed. It is horrifying to learn that one far-right account in advance of the riot posted the following online: “City West IPASS Center [sic] needs to be stormed.”
The clear goal of these organisers was to overrun the accommodation centre.
This wasn’t done to protect children or the community, even if that’s what the organisers told the people they brought along with them. The organisers were intent on sowing havoc and discord. It was done to whip up fear, create division and terrify vulnerable people.
We now learn that over 20 arrests were made and two gardaí were injured during a second night of riots near the Citywest Ipas centre.
This behaviour is totally unacceptable and must be immediately stamped out by the powers that be.
John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Surrounded by Sinn Féin trio, Connolly appeared anything but Independent
News bulletins regarding the presidential election continue to refer to Catherine Connolly as “Independent candidate”.
Watching RTÉ’s Six One News on the penultimate day of canvassing, Connolly appeared (in the Cavan- Monaghan constituency) lovingly surrounded by Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, Pearse Doherty and Matt Carthy. This portrait made the presidential candidate look anything but “Independent”.
Peter Declan O’Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan
I’ll still be voting Steen as my No 1 to send a message to Fine Gael’s talliers
I watched the final presidential election debate on Tuesday and was struck by Heather Humphreys’ statement: “There are people at home tonight wondering why there are only two of us on this stage. I would say to people considering not voting to come out on Friday and vote for me.”
It felt like an appeal to those of us who intend to either stay at home or spoil our votes in protest at the shameful manner in which this election has been run.
Speaking for myself, I’m afraid it’s too little, too late. I do not want to see Connolly or her supporters rewarded for their views or behaviour, which are anathema to me. However, my desire to punish Simon Harris and Michéal Martin for the way they attempted to tie up this election in their favour is stronger, and keeps me from voting for Humphreys.
The irony is that had Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil allowed me to vote No 1 for a dissident voice like Maria Steen, Humphreys would most likely have benefited from my No 2. In the absence of that option, I think I’ll write in “Maria Steen 1” and place a “2” beside Humphreys, just to show Fine Gael’s talliers what might have been.
Killian Foley-Walsh, Kilkenny
UK needs referendum on monarchy so we can elect a head of state, like Ireland
Today, the Republic of Ireland votes for its next head of state – democracy in action. Here in Britain, we continue to suffer an unelected king from the dysfunctional House of Windsor with the appalling Prince Andrew denigrating the monarchy.
If I were an Irish citizen I would be overjoyed to vote for a president who, in any event, will be term-limited to seven or 14 years, not indefinitely and automatically succeeded by their eldest son or daughter as head of state.
The sooner Ireland is reunited, the better, so people in the North can also participate in genuine democracy.
I find it obnoxious that Princes William or George will be my automatic head of state without my vote.
A referendum on the UK monarchy is long overdue and will hopefully result in its abolition.
The Irish head of state has 100pc legitimacy to be in their post. The British one has none, as not a single vote endorses King Charles’s reign.
Dominic Shelmerdine, London
As the hypocritical serial objector is voted in, I am now ashamed to be Irish
The 62nd anniversary of the death of John F Kennedy is approaching. On that November day in Dallas in 1963, grown men cried. I remember one American telling me many years ago that it was the one day he was ashamed to be American.
I think I will be in that man’s shoes today when Catherine Connolly will receive enough votes to become the 10th president of this country.
People are about to elect somebody with an abominable public record, who is a hypocrite.
She has objected to major Galway projects including a bypass, new school campus, private hospital and new GAA grounds, and has bemoaned the lack of infrastructure in her native Galway city.
Her objections also include commercial development projects, floodlights at Pearse Stadium and new GAA grounds for Casltebar Hurling Club.
During her time as a TD, she bemoaned the cancer services at University Hospital Galway and questioned former health minister Stephen Donnelly multiple times over a commitment to deliver a cancer care centre with appropriate infrastructure at University Hospital Galway. The list goes on.
If you still have not cast your vote, will you please consider the hypocrisy and ask yourself: Does this person deserve to be our head of state?
Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo
It remains to be seen if we are on the cusp of another ’70s-type Jesus Revolution
Recent letters to your paper on a possible revival of the Catholic faith and teaching among young people remind me of what was called the Jesus Revolution in 1970s America.
“We didn’t call it a revolution,” Pastor Greg Laurie said of the sudden increase in young people adopting the Christian faith in the ’70s, first in California, then across the US and around the world. “Time magazine coined that phrase. We called it ‘The Jesus Movement’. But I think Time editors had it right, because they saw something bigger.”
It remains to be seen if this new-found yearning for meaning, particularly among young people and reflected in an increased awakening in church teachings – not just in Ireland, but across the world – is temporary or something more profound.
Given the history of the Catholic Church in this country, I would have my doubts that answers will be found in the supernatural.
Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry
