Jun 27
“Politics with Hidden Bases” looked at Irish TDs, and found Fianna Fáil TDs are more likely than average to have Gaelic surnames, while Fine Gael have an above-average number of Old English surnames. The explanation offered is that in patriarchal households, so you vote like your Da, not your Ma, and the Gaels are rebels. …
Jun 13
On the day Irish newspapers led with a historic first placing for Labour, James Lawless blogged a not-bad analysis of Fianna Fáil’s current woes from the perspective of an ordinary cumann member. James believes his party is no longer corrupt, but distinguishes corruption from graft. He criticises ‘Carpetbaggers’ loading up on expenses, or jostling for …
Feb 17
Green party senator Dan Boyle used his twitter account to express his frustration after the government won a Dáil vote of confidence in Defence minister Willie O’Dea earlier today. The Cork-based politician said he was “not happy with what happened today” using the online messaging service. “As regards to Minister O’Dea I don’t have confidence …
Sep 02
Anyone seeking for a metaphor for all that is wrong with Ireland at the moment need look no farther than the Dublin docklands. There, you will find the proposed new headquarters for Anglo Irish Bank, a building planned in happier days, before the bank imploded and was nationalised. A government strapped for cash as tax …
Jun 20
I spent most of the week in London. From what I saw in newspapers and on television while there, Gordon Brown seemed preoccupied by the ongoing row over MPs expenses. He lost another minister on Wednesday, though Kitty Ussher was keen to say in her resignation letter that she had done nothing wrong, and was …
Jun 08
Dear John, Right now, you’re probably wondering where to begin. Half your membership wants you to pull out of coalition on Tuesday, the rest want you to stick the course. The wiser course is probably to knuckle down and get on with it. But to make that work, you need to change some things. First. …
Jun 02
Fianna Fáil has the support of one in five voters, if the latest Irish Times poll is to be believed. Labour are three points ahead of them, and Fine Gael lead the pack with 36%. Independents are supported by one in ten, Sinn Féin by one in twelve, and the Greens by only 3%, a …
May 21
Dan Boyle went down to Tralee last week to say ‘something controversial’. Boyle must have been aware of poll findings, and told his Kerry audience it was time to review the programme for government. ‘Most of the Green Party elements of it have now been implemented,’ Boyle said. ‘It is a document that is in …
May 15
If I was Enda Kenny, I’d be worried. He rescued his party from political oblivion in 2002, bringing them back from 31 to 51 seats in 2007. Thanks in part to Biffo’s cluelessness, he now finds himself at the head of a party with 38% support in the latest poll, about to deliver a historic …
May 12
Dublin is to get a new directly-elected mayor within a year. The first directly elected city leader will be chosen by the capital’s citizens next summer. ’2010 will see the direct election, by the people of the Dublin region, of a highly-visible and accountable Mayor who will have the authority and powers to deliver real …