Sir, – Deirdre Duffy makes a stout defence of Fine Gael ("Irish voters like the politics of the middle ground", Opinion & Analysis, August 16th), praising its centrist politics. The party apologist is somewhat mistaken in asserting: "Two referenda were passed unanimously, led by civil society movements with campaigns giving a voice to the centre". Far from being "unanimous", over one-third of those who voted opposed both the repeal of the Eighth Amendment on abortion rights (2018) and the same-sex marriage referendum changes (2015). Dismissing the preferences of 1.46 million voters is hardly a great launching pad for middle-ground politics. – Yours, etc,
GERALD FLYNN,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.