Did US interfere with vote here?

The allegations of Russian interference in US elections rumble on. Maybe they are true, maybe not.

In any event, we don’t have the same problem here, even though, in our case, there could be US interference in Irish elections. For instance, the leading gay and lesbian organisation (Glen) received €4m from Atlantic philanthropies over an 11-year period. It was claimed that none of this was used in order to ensure that a ‘Yes’ vote would be the result in the Marriage Equality referendum. This, too, may well be true. But if so, would it not be extremely embarrassing to Glen, if a ‘No’ vote was, in fact, successful?

Furthermore, a senior board member of Glen was unlikely to be the only person to imagine that the organisation was seeking enhanced acceptance of its views through political means. While the board itself was understood to be unaware of the transaction, according to media reports the member concerned had indeed accepted some €11,500 worth for political purposes. This was subsequently paid back.

Glen was to be wound up at short notice around April 2017. Should all this be of concern to the public, even if the notion of US interference was established, and accepted? Well, yes.

The Irish Government, too, gave to the same organisation. The public (and taxpayers) have yet to be informed as to who made the (original) recommendation/order to wind up the organisation, and why, exactly. Further, if one accepts the sovereignty of individual nations, it is difficult to see why Russian interference should be so newsworthy, and US interference of such little interest. Donal O’Driscoll Bray, Co Dublin