Scramble for Park has demeaned office

EVER since Mary Robinson became President in December 1990 the effectiveness and dignity of that office has been enhanced.

Mrs Robinson, and her successor, incumbent President Mary McAleese, used the position to give a platform to campaigners more used to waiting, silent and ignored, on the sidelines.

The office evolved into something more proactive than was traditional. The presidents encouraged communities and campaigners to have the courage to pursue their ambitions and both made significant contributions to making the machinery of State far more relevant to everyday life. It is not overstating the case to say that they did more than the great majority of politicians to encourage Irish people to be less deferential, less accepting of the world as they found it. They encouraged people to believe that they could change and by doing so change the world.