"I ALWAYS enjoy coming to Galway . . . despite any suggestions to the contrary . . . "
Just three weeks short of his last - and controversial - trip to the west, Taoiseach Brian Cowen triggered roars of laughter and applause with his opening remarks at a book launch in Galway on Saturday night.
"It's a great pleasure to be here," Mr Cowen said, making only the most oblique reference to the controversy that surrounded his recent visit - a controversy sparked off by an RTÉ radio interview he gave the morning after a late night celebration on September 14th. This time it was a different hotel venue, a different format, and there appeared to be no furious "tweeting", as Mr Cowen paid tribute to Blackwater Press for publication of a new book, Hold That Thought: 52 Thoughtful Reflections for Your Yearby humanitarian aid worker with Goal Ronan Scully and photographer Andrew Downes.
The book, which is published in aid of four charities, includes a foreword by Mr Cowen in which he pays tribute to the authors.