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Ireland is ousted as head of YWCA

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Former National Organization for Women President Patricia Ireland has been ousted from the top job at the Young Women's Christian Association.

The appointment of Ireland, a veteran liberal political activist, was immediately controversial, with several national organizations lobbying against the choice after it was announced.

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MSNBC, which reported Ireland firing, quoted one unidentified YWCA board member as saying, "We have the deepest admiration for Ms. Ireland's dedication to women's issues and social justice." But the board member added, in the end the YWCA was "the wrong platform" for her advocacy.

Some groups cheered the news of Ireland's dismissal. Andrea Lafferty of the Traditional Values Coalition, a self-described pro-family lobby, said: "All this murky talk about 'wrong platform' is pure spin. She is a liberal extremist and the soccer moms dropping their kids off at the local 'Y' don't want any part of her and her strange friends."

Ireland said the board's decision to remove her after only six months left her "uncharacteristically speechless."

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