Further to Wicklow Independent TD and (Social Democrats co-founder) Stephen Donnelly’s decision to join Fianna Fáil.

Anton D’Alton, a Greystones, North Wicklow resident, writes:

I couldn’t help noticing that Stephen Donnelly, formerly an Independent TD and once a founding member of the Social Democrats has decided to cast his lot with Fianna Fáil, and is set to become that party’s spokesman for Brexit.

I’m sure as I am that the good citizens of Wicklow, and more particularly those from Greystones are choking on their quinoa at the thought.

Sadly, it was all too predictable that Donnelly would end his perfect isolation and cast his lot with the Soldiers of Destiny. it would seem, ambition got the best of him.

However, in his rush to join the ranks of the Soldiers of Destiny, Donnelly who was making his mark as a free ranger hunting down the vultures, has now swapped his independence to become a meaningless NCO in charge of jungle outpost.

Indeed, one wonders for how long ‘The Donnelly’ will last in Fianna Fáil before he realises he has committed the political equivalent of Seppuku?

Fianna Fáil are no doubt very pleased with themselves at the moment, or at least the one’s in Mount Street are. They are past masters at the game of ‘seek out and smother’ especially when it comes independent minded candidates with the potential to do mischief to their interests at a later date.

From their vantage point in Mount Street, they made a simple calculation that it would be far better to have Donnelly ‘inside the tent’ performing as a political castrati in a sideshow rather than on the outside and singing a different tune.

Fianna Fáil’s short-term gain is Donnelly’s long-term loss. What he doesn’t realise yet, is that the electorate in North Wicklow have long memories and are not as forgiving of shape-shifters as constituents in other counties might be?

And there is one factor he has not calculated yet; namely how to deal to deal with Fianna Fáil’s notorious Wicklow cummans?

If Donnelly thought the Social Democrats were obstreperous, he’s in for a rude awakening.

What he might not have realised was that rebel Fianna Fáilers in Wicklow, helped orchestrate his election back in 2011, in order to dispose of the unpleasant Dick Roche.

And believe you me, they are a fickle and crafty bunch when it comes to dealing with parachute candidates sponsored by Mount Street.

The hills of Wicklow are awash with the dead carcasses of fair weather candidates thrown out of the mother ship only to be shot by the renegades on arrival.

It may well be that Donnelly thinks that the only people whose nose will be out of joint in North Wicklow are The Blue Rinse Brigade who frequent Avoca, or The Blow-Ins who queue like lemmings outside The Happy Pear on Sundays.

Perhaps in his conceit, he believes the regular voters in North Wicklow will forgive him. They won’t and they never will.

So the die is cast. Humpty is in for a big fall. When that happens, no one in Mount Street will be there to put him back together again.

FIGHT!

Earlier: A Limerick A Day

Yesterday: FFS

(Sam Boal, Rolling News)