Preserving the art of smoke and daggers

RADIO REVIEW:  WITH AN election beckoning there may be an overwhelming appetite for a change in government, but some are seeking a more radical overhaul of the political landscape. During the forthcoming campaign Prof Terry Dolan of UCD wants to consign one of Ireland's most venerable traditions to electoral oblivion: our politicians' prerogative to mangle English in the pursuit of office.

On Wednesday Dolan appeared on

The John Murray Show

(RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) to launch the programme’s campaign against abuse of the language by election candidates. Even allowing for the dreadful state of the nation, this seemed a step too far. Be it Bertie Ahern talking about “smoke and daggers” or Mary Coughlan confusing “imprimatur” with “alma mater”, such gaffes are a cherished part of our culture, providing naysayers with proof that politicians are a bunch of chancers and giving the rest of us much-needed light relief.

As it turned out, colourful malapropisms were not Dolan’s main target. He was more concerned with politicians’ inability (or unwillingness) to communicate properly with us, by repeating tired mantras and trying to bamboozle with meaningless verbiage. This tendency, Dolan said, was rooted in the verbal anarchy of Hiberno-English patois: “It’s in the genes to knock the English language aside.”

His examples were oddly mundane, however. Phrases such as “new innovation” may be annoying tautologies, but they are hardly evidence of a uniquely Irish approach to the language. Ultimately, Dolan was appealing for clarity more than anything else, with his real distaste reserved for politicians – “these ghastly people” – rather than for any linguistic chaos they visit upon us.

Interviewed earlier on the show, the entrepreneur Jay Bourke provided an example of the plain speaking sought by Dolan. Bourke, whose restaurant empire was part of the fabric of boom-era Ireland, was sanguine about doing business now. “Every investment one has made has gone down in value,” he said. “But that’s part of the game.” Bourke spoke about setbacks such as closures and unrealistic rents, but his tale was, in today’s calamitous context, a positive one. Unlike many Celtic Tiger businessmen, he played by the rules – “I’m the only man in Ireland to pay Anglo back,” he ruefully mused – yet was in a better state than most, still employing 400 people. He was also refreshingly gracious, thanking his staff for all their hard work. The only bum note was when he characterised himself as one of the “little guys”: by almost any standards Bourke is a big fish.

But decency is not necessarily an asset for aspiring parliamentarians, as the composer and sometime Dáil candidate Frank McNamara revealed on Moncrieff(Newstalk, weekdays). McNamara, who stood unsuccessfully for the Progressive Democrats in 2007, spun a cautionary tale about the perils of entering politics as an ingenue. McNamara said he was invited to run for the PDs after several social encounters with Mary Harney but soon realised he had entered an unforgiving world. He was left on his own to raise funds and pick a team, and parachuted into a working-class Dublin constituency where the party scarcely had a presence. And, almost overnight, he found his relationship with the public changed for the worse. Where before people chatted to McNamara about his years on The Late Late Show, now they sneered at him for being "one of them" ("them" being politicians rather than PDs, McNamara clarified). Though his use of trite phrases such as "I'm more interested in people than politics" put him on a linguistic par with many a TD, McNamara came across as genuine but too naive to sustain a political career. His account shed light on the machinations of the electoral process, however. By approaching politics from an unconventional angle Moncrieff – and indeed Murray – provided a more fruitful public forum than most party-political debates.

By way of proof one only had to listen to the jockeying politicos on Monday's edition of Today with Pat Kenny(RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) as they bickered over the finance bill to no great effect. It was most notable for the contribution of the Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty, as he excoriated Labour for not pushing on with its bill of no confidence: "We can take this government out," he said. Even after the peace process it is unnerving to hear a Sinn Féin member urging people to "take out" anyone, even a lame-duck government. During the election Doherty might take Dolan's advice and mind his language.

Radio moment of the week

The downfall of the Sky Sports presenters Andy Gray and Richard Keys for sexist remarks was a recurring topic on the airwaves this week, if only because broadcasters are alive to the danger of unguarded comment. But there are some, such as George Hook, who seem immune to such concerns. During Wednesday's edition of The Right Hook(Newstalk, weekdays) he forbade sports reporter Philip Egan from mentioning Gray. Instead Hook talked about an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie he had seen the night before. "It's great," enthused Hook. "There's a fabulous-looking bird in it, called Williams." But before any alarm bells went off, Hook quickly covered himself: "But Schwarzenegger doesn't know the offside rule."

radioreview@irishtimes.com