And Just Like That, He Was Gone [Updated]

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Alan Kelly resigns as Labour Party leader last night

This morning.

Further to last night’s surprise resignation of Alan Kelly as leader of the Labour Party.

Via Irish Times:

Kelly’s two-year term as leader of the party was brought to an abrupt end on Tuesday, when a delegation of three members visited him to deliver a blunt message: your time is up.

The knife was ultimately twisted by three members of the parliamentary party seen as particularly close to him: Dublin Fingal TD Duncan Smith, who Kelly made director of elections for the successful Dublin Bay South byelection, and the party’s health spokesman; Cork East TD Seán Sherlock, who backed him for the leadership over Aodhán Ó Ríordáin in 2020; and Senator Mark Wall, a staunch backer of Kelly through and through.

but the immediate trigger, sources said, was unhappiness among members over the manner of an appointment made to a backroom position within the party.

Sources said the decision was made to approach Kelly on Monday, and deliver the verdict of his colleagues to him. However, it wasn’t until Tuesday that Smith, Wall and Sherlock went to him.

Hmm.

Anyone?

Meanwhile.

Above from left: Duncan Smith, Ivana Bacik, Ged Nash, Alan Kelly and Aodhan O Riordan in Buswells, Dublin, for the launch of Labour’s Alternative Budget in January

This afternoon.

Paddy Power odds on the next Labour leader:

Ivana Bacik. 1/10

Ged Nash 9/1

Duncan Smith 10/1

Sean Sherlock. 16/1

Aodhan O Riordain. 20/1

Brendan Howlin. 20/1

Kelly lost the support of party colleagues (Jack Horgan Jones, irish Times)

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40 thoughts on “And Just Like That, He Was Gone [Updated]”

    1. goldenbrown

      +1
      the Irish Labour Party died in 2011 – see rip.ie

      but at least they’ll have an impressive Wikipedia page, wha

  7. Johnny

    This.

    -Labour leader @AlanKellyLabour calls for the Russian Ambassador to Ireland to be expelled from the country.

    …. Kelly called on Irish people in Russia to leave and for the Government to cut all diplomatic ties with the Putin regime.
    In his contribution, Mr Kelly said the Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, “is a liar, he cannot be trusted” and the Irish people want him to be expelled.……

    https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1498996935390343170?s=20&t=VS7tI_EEbStayXJ3JZF_6Q

    This.
    “We didn’t do populism, I despise populism,” he told reporters.“

    https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2022/0302/1284009-labour-alan-kelly/

    The brother is persona non grata in NY/LA with little to no prospect of a comeback,we don’t do populism with sloppy drunks, credibility accused of sexual harassment.

    1. eamonn

      I reckon alan is all kinds of useless as a politician (with or without left leaning tendancies).

      He is not his brother’s keeper though is he.

      There are many petards of his own making for him to be hoisted.

          1. Johnny

            ..,, Mr. Keary and Mr. Kelly are members of a rock band at Teneo, Insane Asylum, which performs Rolling Stones covers, former employees say.:)
            NYT

            You can’t always GET what ya want…,.,

    1. Cú Chulainn

      Himself and Joan killed that party. Just like O’Duil killed the PDs. Next leader is the SDs.

      1. K.Cavan

        Ah, them were the days, Joan Burton turning up in Finglas to open a food bank, as if it’s existence was anything other than proof of her own incompetence, her hero-worship of Thatcher (I’m not joking, she idolised her) but best of all was Joan doing her banker-bashing routine on RTE, then five weeks later, with her ears bent by the witches coven of Dept Of Social Welfare POs & DSs she comes out, the Minister for Social Welfare, all guns blazing, blaming single mothers for all the country’s ills.
        What a stupid, stupid woman she is.
        And that noise that came out when she opened her mouth!

  9. Andrew

    Yes, but why did the parliamentary party lose confidence in him? Something happened and they are not telling.

    Duncan Smith and Ivana Bacik to battle it out much to the chagrin of Aodhán who I suspect is one of the main characters behind this heave.
    Either way they’re an irrelevance, I hope they go for Bacik as that will confirm how utterly out of touch they are and consign them to the history books. They deserve it for supporting the gangsters in both FF and FG over the years. Hopefully the same thing will happen the Greens who are equally lacking in any principles.
    I know several member of the Labour Party, family members among them, all bar none are clueless about ordinary people’s concerns and the possible remedies to our social problems. Everything is welfare, welfare, welfare as if that’s all that people deserve

    1. Bodger

      ‘but why did the parliamentary party lose confidence in him? Something happened and they are not telling.’

      + 1

      2. Daisy Chainsaw

        Did you not read the article before publishing cos somebody’s telling: “the immediate trigger, sources said, was unhappiness among members over the manner of an appointment made to a backroom position within the party.

          1. K.Cavan

            Always takes things literally, our Dolly, believes what she reads, reads what she believes.
            In her spare time, she swallows bricks.
            Not the masonry type of course, just the little wooden ones kids play with. You should ask her about the time she swallowed an E.

          2. Daisy Chainsaw

            Whatever I may have swallowed, I never swallowed as much conspiracy bullpoo as you have.

            Are the MIBs still following you?

          3. Hughie Luas

            I agree with Bodger. There is something else at play here. I suspect it is a scandal involving sexual and financial matters of an indelicate nature, and something to do with planning permission as well, possibly even tickets to the Late Late Toy Show.

      3. K.Cavan

        Since little Alan gave a famous interview where he described how, basically, power gave him the horn & how addictive it was, my guess is that it was an intervention by his colleagues to begin the process of ridding him of his addiction & as such, this is to be encouraged.
        Now, if only FF & FG took such good care of the gofors who pass for leaders in their parties too.
        Kelly will exit politics to spend more time with his money, fairly sharpish, I’d say.
        No loss.
        Actually, wouldn’t it be great if Brendan Howlin won, Labour would be wiped out & we could start the long slow process of forgetting they ever existed.
        Who was I talking about, again?
        See, it’s working…

      1. K.Cavan

        Hard to know, maybe because he’s one of the biggest eejits Labour have ever been gifted with & they’ve been gifted with many?
        Just a guess.

      2. Hughie Luas

        Homophobia. Remember they called him Gaydhan at school. This is more of it. Him being a hypocritical egomaniac with no talent has nothing to do with it.

  12. Andrew

    ”During an emergency meeting of the PLP, several other matters arose around what a source described as “cultural issues” in the party under Mr Kelly’s leadership.”

    Anyone know what ‘cultural issues’ might be.

    Duncan Smith has ruled himself out and gave his support for Bacik

    1. Cú Chulainn

      He’s a big bully, he’s further right than Attila, and he killed the Labour Party. First thing on the agenda, aside from the split, would be to profoundly apologise for their term in office. Then merge into the SDs. Batick only got elected because the voters were blocking that Geoghan idiot.

  14. K.Cavan

    First I’d heard of this but who can muster any interest in the Labour Party these days? Most of The Former Left is in the pocket of corporate interests, Kelly was a man you could take an instant dislike to, only to find that dislike developing into virulent hatred as you got to know him better.
    Like U2, Labour should really knock it on the head, the game’s up.
    Alternatively & I think this is the route they’ll take, elect O’Riordan & go for the comedy angle, he’s a fericious eejit, easily as big a twat as our Eamo over in Greenville. I don’t think oul Ivanna will be getting off the Euro-Gravy Train anytime soon.

  15. Hughie Luas

    Ivana is going to be the next leader. Other contenders are beginning to endorse her as their candidate of choice.

    https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2022/0303/1284116-labour/

    Smith rules out Labour leadership bid as he backs Bacik

    Ivana is a smart, hard-working, and committed politician with a track record of conviction and cred. She was savvy enough to come clean and be the only one to voluntarily admit being at the Zapponefest in the Merrion. There is now nothing to throw at Ivana… unlike the appalling Lynne Ruane who was there and who shut down social media accounts, refused to respond to questions, and went into media hiding until October.

    So, good luck to Ivana. But, what she’s doing in the Irish Labour Party I have no idea.

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