THERE have been many, many fine words in the printed press over the last few days on the departure of Tony Blair. For me personally I am glad to see the back of him.

This was a prime minister who did not operate at the cabinet table a system of collective responsibility. His voice was the only voice to be heard and the role of the governing body of the Labour Party in the UK (NEC) was ignored.

He and his bunch of cohorts were an affront to the true meaning of democracy and one hopes that Gordon Brown will change things, but let's not hold our breath.

Paul Doran, Monastery Walk, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

Women should have voted for change From Gerald Rolf

WE are two weeks into continuation of the same incompetent, self-serving government that Irish women voters could have changed. They again endorse poor health service, no police protection, injustice in the courts, crowded classrooms and an economy that's slipping towards stagnation.

With women and children's needs so overlooked, my question is: Why would the women of Ireland . . . that is the nurses, teachers, carers, working mothers, and mothers of primary-school children . . .

ignore their national women's council recommendation to consider a vote for change.

They alone had the voting strength and the most to gain by replacing the ineffectual, elitist TDs who have done little in the past 10 years, even with adequate resources available, to improve the needs of women and children. An opportunity lost.

So, five more years of a snail's pace miserable crawl from your third-world class of healthcare, education facilities, water quality and law enforcement.

Enjoy your hospital waits, contaminated water supplies, crowded classrooms and inflation. Enjoy your lack of parks, beds, schools and Mary's inconvenience of a downtown Dublin children's hospital for the whole country.

Well done. The 10,000 folks with MS can continue to wait, wait, wait for help. Well done.

Young children needing braces can continue to wait until they are 17 or 18 to see an orthodontist.

Gerald Rolf, Sligo.

grolfdsl@eircom. net

Clergyman arrested but paedophile free!

From Carmel Courtney

IT SEEMS strange that the Department of Justice has moved so swiftly to request the extradition of a religious minister whose alleged crime was to assist a woman who wished to end a life which she no longer found tolerable (Sunday Tribune, 1 July 07).

The alacrity with which this man was pursued contrasts starkly with the failure of the Irish authorities to pursue a paedophile whose actions destroyed the lives of many young swimmers. This man, whose whereabouts is well known, is free to wander as he pleases and he has never been made to account for his actions. One would have thought that crimes against vulnerable children ought to be taken more seriously than the supposed offence of helping a woman to die in response to her own specific request.

Carmel Courtney, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16.

GAA should give the lead for both codes From Michael O'Connor

THE crushing defeat of the Wexford hurlers in the Leinster final prompts me to write. The dominance of the Kilkenny hurlers has virtually destroyed the Leinster Championship. In the same weekend, the Kilkenny footballers were defeated by Antrim in the Tommy Murphy Cup on the scoreline of 3-32 to 1-0.

The Kilkenny County Board is probably the only county board in Ireland which has not made a serious attempt to promote both hurling and football! Hopefully Nicky Brennan, who has shown himself to be an outstanding president of the GAA, will give a lead in this matter. The Kilkenny football team is now almost a national joke.

If the Leinster Hurling Championship is to be saved, it is vital that both Galway and Antrim are admitted to that competition. I cannot understand the reluctance of Galway to go into Leinster.

As an old-timer who remembers the great Wexford teams off the '50s and '60s it is my fervent hope that that great county will recover from the recent debacle. The GAA needs a great Wexford hurling team.

Michael O'Connor, Kilvoultra, Macroom, Co Cork.

Well done Rotimi!

Proving Irish welcome From Xavier McCullough

CONGRATULATIONS to our first black mayor; 43-year-old councillor Rotimi Adebari was elected the mayor of Portlaoise town council last week. A Nigerian man who came to Ireland seeking asylum only seven years ago. What an achievement. It is great to see the diversity of our society reflected in the establishment.

Who knows, maybe he will beat Brian Cowen in a recount in the next general election.

When will we see the first black garda? The first black All Ireland winner? The first Polish TD? The first Latvian GAA president? The first black Gaelscoil principal?

We already see the diversity in our society reflected at our children's schools and it is great to see so many nationalities at my kids' birthday parties.

Well done Rotimi, your story reflects kindly on Ireland and helps prove that Ireland is Ireland of the welcomes!

Xavier McCullough, 49 The Meadow, Murroe, Co Limerick.

So it's okay to sail after a weather warning?

From Keith Nolan IF, after a small crafts weather warning, a south Dublin yacht club (with a pretentious British colonial prefix) permits youngsters to take part in a sailing regatta which is hit by an 'unexpected sudden squall', then that's OK, is it?

Keith Nolan, Caldra House, Caldragh, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.

Calling all Gallaghers From Adrian Gallagher THE Gallagher Clan are attempting to break the Guinness World Record' of "the largest same name gathering . . . surname" as part of the Gallagher Global Gathering taking place from 8-15 September. We would like to make contact with families who are connected with those Gallaghers who settled in the southern part of Ireland after the Battle of Kinsale in 1601.

They were our first diaspora and we are issuing a special invitation to their families to come back to their family homeland for this special occasion.

Adrian Gallagher, Secretary, The Gallagher Clan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

Some positive thinking on our climate From Oliver McGrane IN THE current climatic conditions, perhaps some positive thinking is needed.

American poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) penned inspiring lines on the weather:

"Let the rain kiss you.

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.

Let the rain sing you a lullaby" Oliver McGrane, Marley Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.