Small matter of byelection slipping by unnoticed

WITH THE presidential campaign providing plenty of cheap thrills these days, the small matter of a byelection in Dublin West is slipping by unnoticed.

After the writ was moved in the Dáil on Tuesday night, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin hotfooted it to Castleknock where he performed the official opening of his candidate’s new constituency office. Actually, it’s not new: candidate David McGuinness has reopened the late Brian Lenihan’s office in the Laurel Lodge centre, where it was a well-known landmark.

Marian Quinlan, Brian’s assistant who managed the office for 15 years, has returned to help McGuinness run the operation.

“It’s a real honour to be here,” said McGuinness. “Brian would deal with it all in this office, from matters of State to local community matters. Brian maintained this office on a full-time basis and these walls have witnessed a lot over the years. He was always stressing its importance to constituents and I’m determined to carry on the tradition.”

Given that he is the Fianna Fáil standard bearer, the 25-year-old councillor, who is a history and music teacher, has an uphill battle to retain Lenihan’s seat.

We hear he’s an accomplished trombone player, having played with the National Youth Orchestra, the Blanchardstown Brass Band, the DIT Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Irish Academy of Music Jazz Ensemble.

McGuinness will need to get down to brass tacks quickly. In fairness to him, he emerged quite well from Vincent Browne’s highly entertaining byelection programme on Monday night, when Browne savaged the poor unfortunates putting themselves forward.

Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly was reduced to a quivering wreck, while Vinnie was so nonplussed by the lacklustre performance of Fine Gael’s Eithne Loftus that he just abandoned her.