Does anyone remember one of Bertie Ahern’s better malapropisms, when he described some unsuccessful venture as a “damp squid”. One could not help being reminded of it this afternoon, listening to Éamon Ó Cuív expounding the reasons he is staying in Fianna Fail.
The silly season normally waits until the dog-days of August but it has come early this year. Incredibly, the main government party was planning a self-congratulatory event today in Merrion Square Park, close to Leinster House, to mark 12 months in government.
That was the week that was! The last days before close of nominations were a mad scramble for Norris and Dana. Your humble blogging scribe was present at South Dublin County Council in Tallaght when Fine Gael and some Labour people voted down the Norris bid. (more…)
There seems to be general satisfaction in official circles with the first day of the visit by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. There were protests but no clear and present danger to the British monarch and her husband. The wreath-laying at the Garden of Remembrance went off smoothly, despite the clashes taking place nearby between Gardai and demonstrators.
In now looks as if Barack Obama may be going to Croke Park, a few days after the visit by Queen Elizabeth. Fascinating: there is talk of having a mass rally in honour of the US President. That would feed into his re-election campaign in a very interesting way.
I’ve spent the weekend in Louth, chronicling the success of G. Adams in the constituency and the Sinn Fein electoral performance in general. I don’t feel qualified just now to pronounce in any detail about the overall result of the general election except to say that whoever remarked on radio that this was rebellion through the ballot-box put it very well.
One of the first things to remembers about politics is that logic is a very poor guide. We may be in a phase in our evolution as a State when that maxim is about to be proven yet again. (more…)
If John Gormley stands down as Minister for the Environment and as party leader to honour a rotation agreement brokered two years ago, it’s not going to do the Greens much good. (more…)
The whole country stopped what it was doing yesterday to listen to Tommie Gorman’s extraordinary interview with Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams where he named his father as a child abuser. If you are one of the few who missed it, click here.
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Before they disappear under the receding wave of time, here are some impressions of the recent elections. In the course of the campaign, some people complained they were boring but the present writer didn’t find that to be the case.
In happier times . . . or maybe not: Gerry Adams (left) and Christy Burke
(Photograph by Matt Kavanagh)
