Honorary titles anathema to Ireland

SO Bob Geldof has ruled himself out as a candidate for the presidency of Ireland (May 26).

In an interview on TV3’s The Political Party, Mr Geldof claimed he was approached by an unidentified party to stand for the presidency but declined, saying there had been two amazing women in the job, former president Mary Robinson and current incumbent Mary McAleese, who had increased the country’s standing around the world. Mr Geldof said he would be afraid he would let us down and so rejected the offer. He made the correct decision.

Over the years Mr Geldof has received many well deserved awards for his role in alleviating poverty, famine and genocide, especially in the third world, and twice (2006 and 2008) he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, in 1986, Mr Geldof was awarded a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. How can one claim allegiance to the Irish republic and to the British monarchy simultaneously? I believe awarding British titles and honours to Irish citizens shows contempt for the sovereignty of the Irish state. Mr Geldof's acceptance of this honorary title makes it most inappropriate for him to be nominated for the presidency of the Republic of Ireland.

Any Irish citizen who accepts an imperial title from the British monarch is in breach of the republican and egalitarian ethos of Bunreacht na hÉireann and should not be considered for the role of president. This is an issue of fundamental political principle. We, as a sovereign nation, should uphold the values and dignity of Irish citizenship and oppose any British encroachment into our civic and political space. Britain should cease elevating chosen Irish citizens and placing them symbolically above their fellow Irish.

Tom Cooper

23 Delaford Lawn

Knocklyon

Dublin 16