Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Dr. Patrick Hillery dies

Options

Comments

  • Options
    #2
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    God be with the days when Presidents were seen and not heard.

    Mike.


  • Options
    #3
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Day of Mourning so workers get a day off work?

    Before you laugh, the Americans had one when President Ford died not so long ago


  • Options
    #4
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Not sure, I can't remember what happened when Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh died.

    Mike.


  • Options
    #5
    ateam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 986 ✭✭✭ateam


    First former president to die since 1978. I'd imagine the state funeral will be something like Gerald Ford's in that it won't be a huge occasion with a procession etc like Ronald Reagan's.


  • Options
    #6
    lostexpectation
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,082 ✭✭✭lostexpectation


    bet they'll be more then at haughey's funeral


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    Eglinton
    Closed Accounts Posts: 992 ✭✭✭Eglinton


    Wow. A handfull of posts on the death of a President. Tells you a lot about his legacy doesn't it.

    To paraphrase Mike65 - A president who was seen and not heard.

    Other than his reputed hand in bringing the Northern Ireland troubles to the UN stage, did he do anything else?

    I don't think he was too inspiring or much of a figure head.

    Thoughts?


  • Options
    #8
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    My quip was a back-handed compliment. I don't like seeing ceremonial heads of state glad handing thier way through the business classes of foreign countries.

    Hillary was a reluctant Prez, esp the second term.

    Mike.


  • Options
    #9
    Eglinton
    Closed Accounts Posts: 992 ✭✭✭Eglinton


    mike65 wrote: »
    My quip was a back-handed compliment.
    Mike.

    Oh I got that alright. Just got me thinking.


  • Options
    #10
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Still waiting for my day off work.........:(


  • Options
    #11
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,995 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    Eglinton wrote: »
    Tells you a lot about his legacy doesn't it
    Hillery didn't operate a PR department unlike his successors. ;)

    I remember being facinated by his long hair when he came to our school.
    mike65 wrote:
    Hillary was a reluctant Prez, esp the second term.
    Wow, mike can tell the future while the rest of us wonder if she will win the Democratic nomination! :)


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    mike65
    Closed Accounts Posts: 88,978 ✭✭✭✭mike65


    Oops! :p Get your money on.

    Mike.


  • Options
    #13
    The_Minister
    Registered Users Posts: 10,255 ✭✭✭✭The_Minister


    TBH, I don't think you are being fair to him. He was by all accounts a nice, decent man. He was strong enough to resist the pressure from FF to dissolve the government, something that not many of them would have done.


  • Options
    #14
    djpbarry
    Registered Users Posts: 13,104 ✭✭✭✭djpbarry


    Eglinton wrote: »
    Wow. A handfull of posts on the death of a President. Tells you a lot about his legacy doesn't it.
    My father-in-law (from Pakistan) was staying with us at the weekend. While reading the paper, he turned to me and said "one of your former presidents has died - Patrick Hillery. What did he do?". My first thought was "I know that name and I know he was president, but I know virtually nothing about him."


  • Options
    #15
    Sherifu
    Registered Users Posts: 17,727 ✭✭✭✭Sherifu


    djpbarry wrote: »
    My father-in-law (from Pakistan) was staying with us at the weekend. While reading the paper, he turned to me and said "one of your former presidents has died - Patrick Hillery. What did he do?". My first thought was "I know that name and I know he was president, but I know virtually nothing about him."
    Same as really.


  • Options
    #16
    ballooba
    Registered Users Posts: 6,315 ✭✭✭ballooba


    In fairness now can you list Mary McAleese's achievements. I don't see that the president has an policy responsibilities. Their legacy is how they influence people as they go about their business.


  • Options
    #17
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Wishbone Ash wrote: »
    I remember being facinated by his long hair when he came to our school.

    How did ye get a moment alone?

    ;)


  • Options
    #18
    DublinWriter
    Registered Users Posts: 9,557 ✭✭✭DublinWriter


    mike65 wrote: »
    My quip was a back-handed compliment. I don't like seeing ceremonial heads of state glad handing thier way through the business classes of foreign countries.

    Hillary was a reluctant Prez, esp the second term.
    'Ceremonial' being the operative term there, Mike.

    He was very much a Colley-man and backed the wrong horse just as Haughey began his slow-painful slither out of the political graveyard.

    I'm sure there was an element of getting him out of the way when the Haughey-dominated FF nominated him for the Presidential office. Although Hillery was in his time a very able and successfully politician, he treated the office of President much as Dev had designed and ultimately occupied it, as a sort of a political retirement home.

    My argument has always been that the office of president of Ireland is a hang-over from the 1921 treaty negotiations that should be scrapped, or at least merged with the position of taoiseach.

    It's an expensive political bauble that we can well do without.


  • Options
    #19
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    DublinWriter wrote: »

    My argument has always been that the office of president of Ireland is a hang-over from the 1921 treaty negotiations that should be scrapped, or at least merged with the position of taoiseach.

    It's an expensive political bauble that we can well do without.

    I don't think I've ever heard of a Republic without a President. Could be wrong but I don't think you can have one without the other. :confused:

    Maybe give the President more power, never going to happen without a referendum but most Republics have a powerful President. I'm thinking of the USA and France mainly


  • Options
    #20
    DublinWriter
    Registered Users Posts: 9,557 ✭✭✭DublinWriter


    micmclo wrote: »
    Maybe give the President more power, never going to happen without a referendum but most Republics have a powerful President. I'm thinking of the USA and France mainly
    Exactly, the office of taoiseach should actually be the office of president.

    The current ROI office of president as we know it today was an office set up by DeValera as a equivalent to the role of British Sovereign during the 1921 treaty negotiations.

    ...it's kind of like how the Irish government forgot to end the 'emergency' status they declared during WWII until the early 90's!


  • Options
    #21
    mikemac
    Closed Accounts Posts: 19,986 ✭✭✭✭mikemac


    Good point. President simply replaced the Lord Lieutenant. Which was just a figurehead position to rubberstamp legislation.

    And the Viceregal Lodge renamed Áras an Uachtaráin.

    Dev could set up the kind of Republic we see most often with a powerful President but this was never done.
    Probably too late now, it'll never change

    I'm happy though to keep the role of the President though. We need one for a Republic and it's fine to keep it a seperate role.
    If it's a question of money, then I'm sure money can be saved by losing 50 or so TD's, don't think we need so many but that's offtopic


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    nacho libre
    Registered Users Posts: 16,785 ✭✭✭✭nacho libre


    djpbarry wrote: »
    My father-in-law (from Pakistan) was staying with us at the weekend. While reading the paper, he turned to me and said "one of your former presidents has died - Patrick Hillery. What did he do?". My first thought was "I know that name and I know he was president, but I know virtually nothing about him."

    The most important thing to know about Patrick is that he was a great friend to the Irish fisherman.


  • Options
    #23
    Eglinton
    Closed Accounts Posts: 992 ✭✭✭Eglinton


    nacho libre wrote: »
    The most important thing to know about Patrick is that he was a great friend to the Irish fisherman.

    You could say he was a strong minty sweet;)


Advertisement