Sir, – I wish to concur with your correspondences (Letters, September 9th) and express the sadness I felt on reading Heather Humphreys’s article (“I don’t regret running for president. I do regret the sectarian undercurrent it exposed”, Opinion, September 5th).During her election campaign I became aware, although somewhat surprised, of this degree of sectarianism among some people I spoke to. When I look back over the years at the great achievements, and the efforts of so many good people to find a path towards peace and reconciliation on this island, it is deeply disheartening to see that some of the old attitudes prevail.I admire Humphreys for her straightforwardness and honesty. She was a hard-working minister during her time in Dáil Éireann and served her country well. I wish her every success. – Yours, etc,ANNE KIERNAN,Calverstown,Mullingar.Sir, – I had a letter published in The Irish Times last year defending Heather Humphreys against a tiny but vocal minority who attacked her during the presidential election campaign for her Presbyterian ancestors and her attendance at Orange Parades as a child – factors over which she had no control. However, I find her recent claim (Opinion, September 5th) that she was considered “less Irish” because she was “not fluent in the Irish language” entirely specious.Irish speakers, myself included, castigated Humphreys not for being “less Irish” but for breaking the pledge she made in 2014 that she would learn the Irish language when she was first appointed minister for the Gaeltacht. She failed to honour this pledge. Her subsequent claim that she would finally learn Irish if elected president smacked of insincerity. The Irish electorate are not overly fond of politicians who continually break their promises.Like Humphreys’s unpopular stance on fox hunting and her lacklustre television debate performances, her failure to speak Irish has nothing to do with her personal religious beliefs or religious sectarianism. – Yours, etc,PÁDRAIG ÓG Ó RUAIRC,Ceann Tóirc,Co Chorcaí.