Imagine a private corporation closes down its operations in Ireland, leaving several hundred skilled workers on the dole. Imagine the corporation asks if anyone else wants to take over its operations before it leaves, but gets no takers before it pulls out. Imagine the Office of Public Works steps in, offers to buy the corporation’s… Continue reading Imagine
Tag: Mary Coughlan
Bad News Bears
There’s a lot of shooting the messenger going on at the moment. An article in the New York Times, or a wrong word in a report from the IMF, and they’re off. ‘There has been comment which has been neither helpful nor, in my view, appropriate, and I would like to move on from that,’… Continue reading Bad News Bears
300
Today is Brian Cowan’s 300th day as Taoiseach. It’s symptomatic of his reign that today, the door fell off a minister’s helicopter as it left a tourism conference. Brian Cowen’s reign just can’t seem to achieve takeoff. He was elected, as far as I can tell, because he was great crack altogether. He became the… Continue reading 300
Experience
Consider the following: Biffo and Dermot Ahern were solicitors. Micheál Martin, Mary Harney, Mary Hanafin and Noel Dempsey were secondary school teachers. Mary Coughlan was a social worker. Brian Lenihan was a lecturer and qualified barrister. Willie O’Dea was a qualified barrister and accountant. Batt O’Keeffe was a lecturer. Brendan Smith was a political handler.… Continue reading Experience
Identity Politics
One in eight who voted No to the Lisbon treaty say they did so to protect Irish identity. What does that mean? Is it simply a polite way of saying no to immigration, the reason given by one percent of those asked? Perhaps. But I think there’s another meaning. After asking voters why they voted,… Continue reading Identity Politics