Miriam ‘should run for president’ says Puttnam

RTÉ PRESENTER Miriam O’Callaghan should ‘take a run at the Irish presidency’ according to West Cork resident and Labour peer Lord David Puttnam.

David – who celebrated his 80th birthday last week – said he believed the journalist and presenter ‘would make a wonderful president.’

In a wide-ranging video interview with The Southern Star, he also spoke about the generosity of the Bollinger family in Schull, who continue to support a range of community initiatives, including a film award in his name. He said they are the ‘heroes’ and deserve all the credit for the new award at the Fastnet Film Festival.

The Oscar-winning film producer also addressed topics such as the need for balanced development throughout West Cork.

Although he and his wife, Patsy, love Baltimore – a village that has tripled in size in the last 30 years – they find the months of July and August a bit ‘too full-on’, but love it in the months of May, June, September and October.

David, who made Skibbereen his home about 35 years ago, said, ‘I feel more comfortable here than anywhere else in the world. I'll pop my clogs here.'

Sometimes, he said, he wishes Skibbereen had some of the ambition of Clonakilty, but Skibbereen, he adds, is different. ‘It has its own irresistible way of doing things. And I like that. It is no pushover.’

Ultimately, he said every town in West Cork is going to have to work out the very delicate, and difficult, balance between tourism and liveability, especially in a post-Covid-19 economy.

For example, he believes places like Skibbereen could, with the help of its IT hubs, could go ‘global’ in terms of teaching people about yield, productivity and healthy food.