Sir, - I am disappointed by the series of letters criticising Fintan O'Toole's article on Dana's candidacy for the presidency. There are hundreds of thousands like me whose views he articulated precisely. Maybe we cannot be bothered responding to the injured pride of conservative, Catholic Ireland, but I feel that the apparent bias against his views must not remain unchallenged. Maybe we are not responding precisely because of our confidence that the slow but inexorable trend in Ireland towards separation of church and state will continue to gain momentum.
We are now witnessing the beginning of the end of the influence of the Catholic Church on Irish life and failure to end this negative and narrow-minded influence would set Ireland back decades.
President Dana would be a hugely retrograde step which defies credibility. I sincerely hope that Fintan is right and that I am wrong to worry about the tiny possibility that she might succeed. - Yours, etc.,
Dara Hogan,
Rathfarnham, Dublin 16