Presidential candidate Prof Mary McAleese has said she "wholeheartedly" supports integrated and non-denominational schools, despite the views outlined by her at the New Ireland Forum in 1984.
Conducting a live question and answer session on the Irish Times on the Web presidential site (www.irish-times.com/presidential/) yesterday, the Fianna Fail/ PD candidate said it was an issue on which she was regularly misquoted.
"I support integrated schools wholeheartedly and denominational schools," she said. "I believe parents should have choice and should have freedom of choice."
What she did doubt, she said, was "the value of making every school, right now, forcibly integrated."
The on-line questions and answers session was the first of a series which the website will conduct with all the candidates.
Prof McAleese, who had been due to go live at 10a.m. yesterday, arrived at the Fianna Fail election office in Dublin - where the session was conducted - 25 minutes behind schedule.
The Belfast-born candidate was shown 85 questions sent in from around the world. She answered eight in the 45 minutes she spent on-line. Issues included the diaspora, the Irish language and the All-Ireland Final.
Mr Brendan O'Connell, resident in the US, asked about her views on emigrant voting rights. "I would love to see a debate about extension of the franchise to citizens of Ireland living abroad," she said.
Another Irish-American, Mr David Barnwell, asked how she would rate her proficiency in Irish. Prof McAleese said she had studied the subject in school and had been a regular visitor to the Gaeltacht but "alas" was "far from fluent.
"I intend to become fluent quickly over the course of the Presidency," she said.
Ms Patricia Wright asked, "What changes are you going to make to the Irish Government if you are elected as President?" "Absolutely none," replied Mrs McAleese.
Some light relief was provided by a group of RTC students in Tralee: "Are you coming to Kerry to celebrate with us after our victory yesterday?"
Prof McAleese replied that she had been delighted to see the Kingdom "back in business" and implored the students to "give Sam Maguire a big wave from me."
Among the questions the candidate did not answer were her views on drugs, abortion, divorce and gay rights. Joe, from the USA, asked whether members of the gay and lesbian community would be welcome in the Aras under her Presidency.
The most prickly questions of the morning came from journalist Vincent Browne, who asked a total of four. The only one answered concerned her description of the President as "the guardian of the Constitution".
"You have claimed that your special qualification for President is your expertise in the Irish Constitution . . . Given that the authoritative work on the Constitution (The Irish Constitution by J.M. Kelly, third edition by Gerard Hogan and Gerry Whyte, page 83) has described such characterisation of the Presidency as "pure journalistic hyperbole", what qualifications for the office of Presidency are you left with?" he asked.
Prof McAleese's answer was brief: "Please read the more recent comments of the constitutional review committee, which took quite a different view on the subject."
In cyberspace no one can hear you scream.