THE MAN proclaimed a "true American hero" by President Reagan was in Dublin last night to win a few Irish hearts and minds with his own message of political incorrectness.
Bearing military medals gained from his days as a US marine officer, Lieut Col Oliver North was trying to use his persuasive powers on students at Trinity College Dublin.
"Stand up and call evil what it is, and fight for what is right," he told the audience at a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the College Historical Society by Edmund Burke.
Never one to mince his words, the man at the centre of the Iran-Contra affair launched one offensive after another at familiar targets: abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.
Peppering his speech with Biblical references, he warned that failing to protect certain liberties could lead to social unrest and violence such as that witnessed at abortion clinics in the US.
But if the Virginian politician enjoys the role of the lone protagonist, he must have been disappointed as the assembled audience gave him more applause than heckles.
What was of greater entertainment, however, was the ongoing battle between Col North and the veteran women's rights campaigner, Dr Germaine Greer.
"The beauty surrounded by the beasts," he joked as his opposite number posed between the other, male, speakers for photographers.
Dr Greer was clearly not impressed by his charms. "I could have gone my entire life without meeting him, and I don't think I would have felt his lack," she said.
Col North said he is a regular visitor to this country. While here, he is hoping to research the background of his great-grandfather, Laurence Clancy, who came from the Leitrim area.
