Hurler on the ditch? That’s rich coming from Michael
I LOOKED up Michael HealyRae’s Twitter page after news broke of his support for John Delaney last week.
His timeline read: ‘I see the hurlers on the ditch are having a field day with my appearance at the Oireachtas Committee today. Let the games continue...’ Embedded in the tweet was a Gif of a Greek warrior.
Two things, Michael: It’s soccer, not hurling, and this is not a ‘game’. It’s a lot more serious than that.
You’re the hurler on the ditch here. Put a sock in it.
D. KELLY, Co. Dublin.
...DOES Michael Healy-Rae not understand that John Delaney has a job to do in Kerry, and the rest of the country, and his salary is enormous before rental payments and daily living expenses?
The former FAI CEO is paid so well he can afford to bail out his employer who is strapped for cash? Yes, he seems to do a good job but he is overpaid.
Michael should come on an unannounced visit to Waterford and have a coffee in a few pubs and engage the locals in conversation about Delaney.
He could do the same in a few small shops and supermarkets and he will find that Delaney is an embarrassment to many in Waterford and has been for quite a while. J. POWER, by email.
... NOW that the board of the FAI has resigned, this is a great chance for the two Irish soccer associations to join together.
An All-Ireland team would give us a much better chance of winning competitions.
If north and south can play rugby and hockey as one nation, why not soccer? We could be world-beaters in a few years.
B. MOORE, Dublin.
Lay off Leo and FG
IT seems there are a lot critics of Leo Varadkar and of Fine Gael in general out there.
These people seem to have very short memories of when Fianna Fáil and Labour landed this country in the gutter.
I come from a Fianna Fáil background, however many years ago I made my mind up to support Fine Gael and have not regretted it.
I remember John Bruton getting us out of trouble only for Fianna Fáil to wreck it again.
As for 2008, we should all be well aware of what Fianna Fáil did to us then. As a result, this country is indebted to the tune of billions.
Leo and his team have brought prosperity to this country again, so do not be foolish and throw it away to false promises from the wreckers.
Leo and Simon have done Trojan work by getting the EU and USA backing for this country as regards the border – the best chance we have had for a long time to get sensible people on all sides supporting a united Ireland.
We do not want to see guns used in this country ever again. All lives are precious – Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter.
People will look back in years to come and declare Leo Varadkar the greatest Irishman since the great Michael Collins.
S. O’ROURKE, Co. Galway.
Burning issue
YOUR columnist Robert Hardman wonders how on Earth the golden cross above the altar in Notre Dame managed to survive, while the surrounding wood burned (Wednesday’s Irish Daily Mail).
Instead of implying some divine hand intervened, it might be helpful for him to consider that the boiling point of gold is 1,064 degrees Celsius, while wood only needs a temperature of 600 degrees Celsius to burn.
LUKE LYONS, Dublin.
Citizen Shamima
WE in the UK may not like the idea of Shamima Begum being considered for legal aid to fight the withdrawal of her citizenship, but it should be granted.
Foreign criminals are handed legal aid to fight being deported, so why not her?
She was 15 when she joined Islamic State. At that age you can’t make legally binding decisions. Why is she being punished now she has realised her mistake?
She’s being used as an example for others who might have similar ideas.
Ms Begum was groomed and, as in other cases where this happens to children, she should receive help and counselling.
RONALD BALL, England.
Mothers and Babies
IT’S unfortunate that not all the nuns who engaged in the illtreatment of young women and children at Mother and Baby homes can be prosecuted, as many of them are probably dead – or very old by now which makes it impossible.
I am so grateful that I wasn’t around in that era as I don’t think I would have been able to cope with having to give up my baby.
I can honestly say that I feel sorry for mothers who found themselves in that position.
Thank God times have changed for the better and that whoever you are these days, you have to be accepted into society, just like every human being.