Sir,
Councillor Joan Hopkins counters the charges made by Marion Walsh in her letter dated March 28th, against Holly Cairns TD, the head of the Social Democrats. Walsh had berated Cairns for a lack of “courtesy” in her comments following the announcement of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s forthcoming resignation. However, Councillor Hopkins states that Cairns’s initial words towards the departing Taoiseach in the Dáil last Wednesday, were indeed wishes of goodwill. To these words, Varadkar responded by expressing appreciation for Cairns’s “kind words on a personal level”. Hopkins concedes that Walsh’s misinterpretation was not entirely her fault, as the media chose not to report Cairns’s cheery words, deciding instead to criticise Opposition leaders for their allegedly unwarranted impoliteness.
Yours faithfully,
Cllr JOAN HOPKINS,
Social Democrats,
Dublin 13.