Sir, - The report by Elaine Lafferty criticising President McAleese for the quality of her speech in Los Angeles to the World Affairs Council as well as other aspects of her California trip was amazing (News Features, September 25th). I am a member of that organisation and I attended the luncheon at which President McAleese spoke. It is obvious to me that Ms Lafferty and I attended two different luncheons and heard two different speeches.
President McAleese spoke before the largest World Affairs Council I have ever seen. She was treated to at least three standing ovations and spent 45 minutes answering in-depth questions. In Los Angeles, polite applause is more common.
My reactions, as well as those of my friends who attended President McAleese's speech, were very positive. Probably the trip should have included involvement of those in the firm industry, but who knows what schedule conflicts occurred?
For your reporter to have implied that the talk lacked either depth or positive reception indicates a lack of knowledge of the event or an unfortunate desire to trivialise. The truth was different. - Yours, etc.,
William J. McLaughlin, Limestone Road, Claremont, California, USA.