After a busy week making speeches, stirring up controversy with his pronouncements on a united Ireland and unleashing his “inner Shinner”, as Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald put it, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar relaxed by throwing a party for the members of his 2017-2020 cabinet.
Leo invited them to a dinner on Thursday night in Dublin 4′s swanky Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club. Some 16 out of the 33 possibles on the guest list made it along for the occasion. Of that group, the only one who will be standing for election again was the Minister for Social Welfare, Heather Humphreys.
Or the Three Billion Dollar Woman, as some are calling her in advance of next week’s super soaraway pre-election budget.
The Fine Gael contingent was joined by four of the Independent members of Varadkar’s administration. Shane Ross, Finian McGrath and Denis Naughten were joined by Katherine Zappone, whose presence surprised a number of the diners as she based herself mainly in New York after leaving Irish politics.
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They dined on a smoked salmon starter and the main course was a choice between sirloin steak and duck. Apple tart and lemon posset rounded off the meal. The table was set out like the cabinet table with name cards corresponding to where everyone sat at cabinet. Everyone was in good form, particularly those who will be bowing out of Leinster House when Simon Harris announces the election. Those included Simon Coveney, Richard Bruton, Michael Ring and Michael Creed.
The Taoiseach didn’t attend because he was washing his hair. Not really – he was at a long leaders’ meeting in Government Buildings and then had to rush off for his Mammy’s 60th birthday.
Apologies to older readers, who are now in a state of shock at the knowledge that, not only are they considerably older than the Taoiseach of the day, but they are older than his mother as well.
Finian McGrath smuggled in his guitar and started off the singsong with a few classic ballads before calling for other singers to step up to the mark.
“I’ll sing,” shouted Leo, to everyone’s surprise. “I’ll do Dublin in the Rare Ould Times.” Which he did and which we now can never unimagine.
[ Has Leo Varadkar really found his ‘inner Shinner’ with Irish unity comments?Opens in new window ]
Wexford’s Paul Kehoe, who was Leo’s chief whip, sang Boolavogue while Heather Humphreys sang a little ditty which, we are told, was something to do with a dog.
Revelation of the evening was Josepha Madigan with her rendition of Hazel O’Connor’s Will You?
The party went way past midnight and ended with promises to do it all again for those former cabinet members who couldn’t make it this time.
Vincent’s vapours
As charmingly crotchety as ever, Vincent Browne was in flying form at the launch of Patsy McGarry’s memoir in the Mansion House on Tuesday evening.
The Oak Room was packed for the event and we mean no disrespect to our dear friend and colleague Patsy when we say that Vincent’s presence was a big draw on the night.
The veteran journalist began kicking up even before he got around to launching Well, Holy God: My Life as an Irish, Catholic Agnostic Correspondent, jointly doing the honours with clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins.
VB blew a gasket when Lord Mayor James Geoghegan – Fine Gael’s general election candidate in Dublin Bay South – stepped forward to the microphone to welcome everyone.
“What’s your man doing here? Wha? Wha? What’s he doing here?” he kept asking Patsy and everyone else within earshot, including the Mayor. “WHY is he here? What’s he doing here? Wha?”
He thought that Cllr Geoghegan was hijacking the event for political reasons – an understandable misunderstanding, in fairness – and took a dim view. However, Patsy quietly soothed matters by explaining he asked the Lord Mayor to say a few words as he had kindly offered to make the Oak Room available to honour the many survivors who would be in attendance.
James handled it all with good humour, noting that politicians were well used to “brand Vincent”.
Among the crowd was former archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin (rated a 10 by Vincent) and Dublin’s newest auxiliary bishop Paul Dempsey, who was translated (their term) from Ballaghaderreen (Achonry diocese) last spring. A large turnout of the Ballaghaderreen mafia, er, diaspora mustered in support of their fellow Rossie and former Irish Times religious affairs correspondent McGarry.
In his speech, Browne admitted that Irish journalism missed the reality of clerical sex abuse for years, somehow failing to notice what was going on.
“I can’t explain why we didn’t because it was so blindingly obvious.”
He said “the most persistent person in holding the Catholic Church to account was Patsy McGarry”.
It wasn’t praise all the way, though.
“Too much in the book about Mary McAleese. Too much!”
Then Patsy announced later, to much indignant spluttering, that former president McAleese is launching the book in Ballaghaderreen next month.
Robbie’s recall
The most eagerly awaited event of the week was the announcement of the sports capital grants programme. Being the first to break the good news locally and claim the credit before anyone else is the big prize. Details were formally announced on Wednesday by Ministers from the three Coalition parties. The traditional leak and unmerciful row was on Tuesday.
A total of €230 million for facilities was divvied up – 50 per cent more than the last allocation in 2022 – with almost 2,000 separate grants approved for 40 different sports.
Minister of State for Sport Thomas Byrne (FF), who most certainly would not condone indiscriminate leaking, finalised the list which then went to his senior Minister, Catherine Martin. Her department sent it out to the three parties at 5.10pm on Tuesday evening but with an embargo on its release until 11.30am the following day.
Bless their innocence.
Sure the whole thing had already been leaked before it even left the department, with Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher dispatching the full list to every FF councillor in the country at 4.37pm.
Word got back immediately to Leinster House. Ructions ensued. Eighteen minutes later, the councillors got a second communication headed “Robbie Gallagher would like to recall the message”.
In case they didn’t see it the first time.
The Monaghan-based Senator is being called Total Recall Robbie, with a Gallagher-themed poster for the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie of the same name now doing the rounds.
Haughey’s helipad
As the Leinster Lawn bicycle stand and the Department of Finance security hut enjoy their time in the spotlight, it’s a racing certainty that these two little structures won’t be the last two examples of infrastructural extravagance around the Kildare Street/Merrion Street campus to hit head the headlines.
It has always been thus.
There was widespread shock back in the ‘80s when it emerged that the extensive renovation of Government Buildings sanctioned by Charles Haughey cost over £17 million.
Charlie’s vision for his Chas Mahal went right through the ceiling. He had a helipad installed on the roof above the Taoiseach’s office in the west wing of the building with a private staircase leading to it. He was very proud of this and liked to show it off to visitors, even if the wind was rarely kind to a gentleman’s comb-over or a lady’s bubble perm.
As tends to be the way with a lot of vanity projects, the landing pad wasn’t really up to scratch and the army didn’t like using it. Haughey was the only taoiseach to use it and fell into disuse and was decommissioned many years ago.
It’s still up there though, with its H for Haughey still on the top of his pile.
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