Guide Dog concerts raise €1,200!

comments on neutrality and foreign policy. According to an Irish Times poll, this time, the people are not as overwhelmingly in line with the president on this as they were on housing; while the majority did indeed support the retention of Ireland’s current model of neutrality, this majority amounted to 61%, a percentage of the public I’d expect to be considerably lower than those who would’ve agreed with what the president said about housing.

The lack of emphatic support this time around –reflecting the reality that his recent criticisms are not as obviously valid as his comments last June were –meant there has been no wave of “he’s right though” sentiment from the public to muffle out conversation about whether he should be entitled to make such criticisms in the first place.

He also lost some faith for having to withdraw the “throwaway comment” he made in the interview about the chair of the upcoming forum, Prof. Louise Richardson, being a DBE (Dame of the British Empire).

But to whatever degree he is deemed to have (arguably) overstepped the mark last weekend, many of the points he made ahead of the upcoming forum were as well reasoned and justified as his callout last June was.

He is right to emphasise the importance of holding certain standards for institutions like the EU and UN, and to advocate for a more inclusive and self-confident foreign policy that doesn’t totally forego international cooperation in favour of military alliances, and that engages with emerging populations of the world too, rather than relying solely on consultation with fading imperial powers. It is fair for him to raise the point that any advisory forum on Irish neutrality or its future needs to be carried out without bias and with equal input from all sides. And few are likely to not understand where he was coming from when he raised reservations about further investment in the Defence Forces due to the unresolved cultural issues related to sexual misconduct, bullying, discrimination, and career obstruction, which were brought to light recently.

But undoubtedly the content of last weekend interview will not be met with the same widespread agreement last June’s speech was. And that comparative lack of agreement is being balanced with an increase in criticism for the president this time around. If you have widespread public consensus on an issue like housing, having an elected official chime in and echo that majority sentiment doesn’t read as some gross misuse of office; after all, is it not a principal role of the presidency to act as a representative of the people?

Yes, the convention of presidents refraining from sharing their unchecked political opinions is longstanding and well established. The Irish Constitution itself states that while the President may address the nation at any time on any matter, such an address must have received the government’s approval. But that does not equate to a constitutional bar on a president expressing their views, it just means that any official national address needs to go through Cabinet first.

We are, each and all of us, free to agree or disagree with any amount of the opinions President Higgins expresses on the issues of the day. We’re free to come up with and share our own takes on these subjects. Surely the President should be afforded that same opportunity? Ideally, the role of the President in Irish society would be more than to act as a figurehead, but to reflect public opinion and encourage thoughtful dialogue and constructive criticism – but this can’t happen if we never allow our presidents to speak about important issues in the first place.

Organisers have confirmed that two County Roscommon concerts in aid of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind raised a total of €1,200 for the cause.

The two concerts were performed by ‘Bits & Pieces’, a ‘retired’ Manchester four-piece band with ties to Roscommon.

Speaking to the Roscommon People this week, band member John Hannan said the group was overwhelmed by the local response to the concerts.

“A huge heartfelt thank you Roscommon from us four old geezers and Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind,”

“The welcome and the generosity you showed to us was overwhelming. The two concerts raised a staggering €1,200 for the cause. God bless you all!”