Mixed views as President Ronald Reagan receives an honorary degree at University College Galway.
Voices of opposition and support are heard to the conferring of US President Ronald Reagan with an honorary degree from University College Galway.
Dr Richard Gault, University College Galway UCG, spoke to RTÉ News about his opposition to the conferring. Dr Gault felt that the conferring sent out a negative impression that staff at the university supported President Reagan and his policies. He argues that this is very much not the case and says that less than half of the academic staff will attend the conferring, thereby making a stand against President Reagan and his policies.
Dr Richard Gault also mentions Bishop Eamon Casey and Michael D Higgins as keen opponents of Reagan's activities in Central America. He sees President Reagan's visit to Ireland as an opportunistic attempt to rally electoral support from the Irish in America.
UCG student, Gerald Lenihan, is in agreement with the visit and the conferring of President Reagan arguing that Ireland needed as much US support as possible from an economic and employment perspective. However, another student John Fannon opposes Reagan's foreign policies and feels that his visit is inappropriate.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 28 May 1984. The reporters are Jim Fahy and Alan McCullough.
