Sir, - Yvonne Healy appears to be unduly influenced by the international (i.e. London-based) headhunting lobby, where appointing university presidents is concerned.
With a view to putting this matter into perspective may I point out:
A search company was appointed by University College Cork over a year ago to little effect, in that the college made an excellent internal appointment to the presidency:
Trinity and UCD continue to thrive, even though their heads were appointed without recourse to head-hunters.
In these circumstances, the use of public money on head-hunters is not easily justified, especially when there are other effective and less expensive ways of finding candidates.
In the same article Ms Healy is, perhaps, also being unduly influenced by another lobby, which is not above using terms of quasi-racist abuse, as evidenced by the epithet "Hizbollah", quoted by Ms Healy. This lobby would deny this institution the opportunity of shaping - in accordance with our strategic plan - an exemplary bilingual campus under a bilingual president.
Ms Healy manages to misquote the title of an Act of the Oireachtas as well as the academic discipline of our University Registrar - just as she misquoted a crucial section of the Universities Act (1997) when last she wrote on the presidency of this institution (September 23rd, 1997). Perhaps Ms Healy - rather than the universities - should employ consultants. - Yours, etc.,
Prof J. N. Flavin,
Department of Mathematical Physics, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Yvonne Healy writes: Many experts agree that in the 21st century universities should use head-hunters to find the best people for top jobs. The opinions expressed on the Irish language requirement were not mine but those of a great many people who spoke to me. The NUI Galway press office attributed the requirement to the Irish Universities Act, 1929.