O'Donoghue caught cold by Gilmore resignation call

ANALYSIS:The Ceann Comhairle twice pleaded with the Labour leader by phone not to 'do anything precipitous'

JOHN O'DONOGHUE had no inkling that Eamon Gilmore was going to call for his resignation until the Labour leader got to his feet in the Dáil chamber for his stint during Leaders' Questions. According to those close to the Ceann Comhairle, Gilmore's comments that his position was no longer tenable came as "a bolt out of the blue".

It has also emerged that O'Donoghue twice pleaded with the Labour leader not to "do anything precipitous" before he had a chance of putting his side of the case.

As it happened, Gilmore's killer line in the Dáil effectively torpedoed O'Donoghue's career in high political office and scuppered any hope he had of mounting a defence or explanation.

And for the Labour leader, the moment was a triumph. Public sentiment was patently hostile to O'Donoghue following the seemingly endless series of revelations about excessive spending on overseas travel.

The "optics" that emerged from his dramatic intervention was that it was Gilmore who had been the first, and only, political leader who had been prepared to grasp the nettle.

As such, in terms of command and authority, it was portrayed as reminiscent of Dick Spring's stance when he demanded the resignation of the new High Court president Harry Whelehan in 1994. The episode, of course, eventually led to the fall of the Fianna Fáil and Labour coalition.

In interviews later on Tuesday evening, Gilmore said that O'Donoghue was well aware of his view that he could no longer hold on to office following a conversation between them that afternoon. The impression was that the Ceann Comhairle was effectively "on notice" about Gilmore's intentions.

But the sequence of events that led to the watershed moment in the Dáil was more complicated than that. It has since emerged that O'Donoghue pleaded with Gilmore during conversations to allow him the right to put his side of his story. Following the exchanges, he also believed the matter would not be raised in the Dáil, where, given his independent and non-partisan role, he was not in a position to respond.

An internal memo prepared for Government, seen by The Irish Times, lays out the sequence of events from the Ceann Comhairle's perspective. It says it was O'Donoghue who first contacted Gilmore and also suggests that his impression was that the Labour leader was not going to raise it at Leaders' Questions.

Labour yesterday confirmed that O'Donoghue initiated the contact and that there were two telephone conversations between the two men. The memo states that O'Donoghue called Gilmore on his mobile and had a brief conversation with him.

"He informed [Gilmore] that he had just then received in his office a notice from Sinn Féin of a motion calling on the Ceann Comhairle to resign.

"The Ceann Comhairle also assured Deputy Gilmore that the reports in the [ media] were in several respects inaccurate and misleading. He then requested that rather than do anything precipitous, that he would afford the Ceann Comhairle the opportunity of putting his case before the Oireachtas Commission the following evening."

The memo states that Gilmore said he would think about what O'Donoghue had said and would phone back. Shortly after that Gilmore did come back and said he had spoken with a number of people. According to the memo, he did not think that O'Donoghue would survive - that "it was not looking good". States the memo: "The Ceann Comhairle reiterated, with greater emphasis, that the press coverage of his information released . . . was in many respects incorrect and misleading."

The memo says O'Donoghue asked again for an opportunity to put his case to the commission. "He pointed out that he was not asking for any special favour and was only asking for the same respect and rights as would be afforded to any citizen under the Constitution.

"He said that he was merely asking for natural justice and the right to be heard in his own defence.

"Deputy Gilmore said that he would 'chew on it' and that he would ring back. The conversation then ended. There were no further telephone calls," it concludes.

Labour yesterday confirmed that there had been two conversations, the first of which had been initiated by O'Donoghue. However, the party said the content of the conversations were private, other than letting it be known that Gilmore left him in no doubt about his views but did not go into tactics.

Yesterday morning senior Fianna Fáil Ministers learned of the memo and it was that knowledge that may have prompted the post-hoc attack on Gilmore by Brian Lenihan, Willie O'Dea and others yesterday, all of whom claimed the Labour Party acted inappropriately. They were aware that an over-robust defence of O'Donoghue could rebound on them. Whatever criticism Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael had about the tactics employed by Labour, Gilmore's move - and his resonant phrase that "you will either have to resign or be removed from office" - chimed perfectly with the public mood.

The process that culminated in O'Donoghue's resignation statement was equally convoluted. Clearly unprepared for the verbal fusillade delivered by Gilmore, he had a series of conversations with his own advisers immediately afterwards before contacting Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

According to sources close to the Taoiseach, Cowen neither tried to mount a defence for O'Donoghue nor to force him to fall on his sword. He met John Gormley and told him that O'Donoghue wanted to know where the Greens stood and were there any circumstances in which it could vote confidence in him?

At one stage in the evening the possibility was mooted that the Labour Party motion of no confidence would be processed, forcing a division of the House.

Gormley let it be known that the Greens could not support O'Donoghue in a contested vote. The issue was not pressed. The scenario played out as follows, according to one source: "It was a human situation. The flush was busted and there was no question of him surviving. From early on, it was whether he could be given some time to talk to his people and sort out his affairs before leaving."

In all there were three conversations between Cowen and Gormley, the last by telephone. In each, the Green leader reiterated the party position. At no stage, said both parties, did Cowen try to persuade the Greens to come on side. There was mutual recognition that there was an end game.

O'Donoghue took the decision at about 8.30pm. There was a hiatus at 9pm when, during negotiations between the whips, Fine Gael insisted that he should resign there and then. There were rumours at that stage that O'Donoghue might be reconsidering and was holding out some hope of clinging to his position. But they were unfounded, say sources close to him.

Shortly before 10.30pm, the statement was released. The departing Ceann Comhairle had won the small concession of not having to resign until Tuesday. The motive behind the delayed resignation is that it will give O'Donoghue time to prepare a statement in which he will be able to mount the defence he wanted to mount yesterday and during which he may also take the opportunity to confront his detractors.

Harry McGee is a political staff writer