Sir, - Fintan O’Toole’s recent column (“This election has become about the nature of the presidency itself”, Opinion, October 14th) comparing the prospective presidential candidacies of Heather Humphreys and Catherine Connolly strikes a troubling tone. By describing Ms Humphreys as “harmless” and “anodyne”, Mr O’Toole veers into intellectual snobbery, deploying condescension where serious political argument should be.

Humphreys was a senior minister with a long and honourable record in public service. She has held some of the most challenging portfolios in Government – including justice, social protection, and rural and community affairs. To dismiss her as lacking substance is to ignore this record entirely.

There is, quite frankly, a strain of misogyny at work when a female candidate who is measured and pragmatic is brushed off as unworthy, while unpredictability and provocation are framed as virtues. Is a woman only to be taken seriously when she is confrontational?

Let us also remember that the Irish presidency is defined by the Constitution as a non-executive, largely ceremonial role – one that requires wisdom, restraint and unity. It is not the job of the president to be a political agitator or to serve as a permanent critic of the government of the day. A presidency that seeks out confrontation risks undermining the very dignity and impartiality the office exists to uphold.

Mr O’Toole is, of course, free to favour one candidate’s vision over another. But elevating that preference by demeaning a decent, capable woman – and implying that the electorate should seek out drama rather than dependability – does a disservice both to the presidency and to public discourse. – Yours, etc,

JAMES KENNY,

Greenville,

Listowel,

Sir, - A “harmless poor divil” was not always a pejorative term, now the application of the adjective “harmless” may cost a “nice” woman an election. - Yours, etc,

ETHEL REYNOLDS,

Clonmel,

Co Tipperary.

Who is the greenest

Sir, - Former TD Brian Leddin argues (“I resigned from the Greens over its back