Ah.
Environment Minister Phil Hogan and Mary Mitchell O Connor TD at the Fine Gael ‘think-in’ in the Heritage Hotel, Co Laois yesterday.
Meanwhile…
The youthful Labour parliamentary party at the Johnstown Hotel, Co Meath for the Labour Party ‘think-in’ yesterday.
Average age anyone?
(Laura Hutton and Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)
(Mairead McGuinness MEP, Taoiseach Enda Kenny and John Paul Phelan TD)
Fancy graphics on the Fine Gael website contradict the Carlow/Kilkenny TD.
Not laughing at you John Paul, laughing with you.
Abolishing Seanad would not save €20m, FG TD says (Mark Hennessy, Irish Times)
(Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland)
You may recall the protest outside the office of Independent News and Media, on Talbot Street, Dublin last week.
It followed Irish Independent journalist Gemma O’Doherty (above) – whose reporting on the 1985 murder of Fr Niall Molloy helped reopen the case – being made redundant.
The move to let O’Doherty go came several months after she doorstepped Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to confirm that he had penalty points wiped from his record.
The Phoenix is today reporting O’Doherty’s editors were apparently furious with her approach regarding Callinan, with then editor Stephen Rae apparently telling O’Doherty her behaviour was that of a ‘rogue reporter’.
But her pursuit of the Fr Molloy story had already caused tensions with gardai and a government extremely sensitive to Fine Gael connections with the case.
Judge Frank Roe presided over the trial of Richard Flynn, who was charged with Fr Molloy’s manslaughter and assault.
Judge Roe threw out the case after deciding the possibility of Fr Molloy having a heart attack and striking his head while falling over couldn’t be ruled out.
Judge Roe was a prominent Fine Gael supporter and even ran for the party. And Michael Noonan was Justice Minister when Roe was appointed President of the Circuit Court.
An obituary of Judge Roe in The Dundalk Argus in 2003 reads:
“A staunch Fine Gael supporter like most of his family, he was once election agent for Paddy Donegan and stood as a unsuccessful candidate for the party in Louth in 1948 and 1951.”
Last November, Independent TD Finian McGrath attempted to raise the issue of the Fr Molloy case at an Oireachtas justice committee meeting – where Commissioner Callinan was present – but he was ruled out of order by committee chairman and Fine Gael TD David Stanton.
The committee then went into closed session and the gardaí, media and onlookers were asked to leave.
Previously: Meanwhile on Talbot Street
Pics: The Argus,
From the author of Showtime.
Penguin Ireland writes:
They had promised a new politics. They would stand up to Europe (Labour’s way or Frankfurt’s way), get the country working again (Fine Gael’s five-point plan), reverse the culture of favours and jobs for the boys, resist vested interests and protect the vulnerable. But the ink was hardly dry on a coalition deal when senior figures in both parties knew that not a word of their election rhetoric would be realised – the economic situation was worse than their direst imaginings.
This is the story of trying to govern a country on the verge of ruin – the favours, the deals, the policy compromises and previously unthinkable choices that had to be made. It is a gripping tale of high drama (and high dudgeon), of betrayal, backstabbing and disillusionment, of those who rose to the challenge and those who withered under the strain.
Hmm.
Pic via Pat Leahy
A new Red C opinion poll shows support for Fine Gael has risen slightly since the new abortion laws were passed.#NewsTalk
— Newstalk 106-108 fm (@Newstalkfm) August 8, 2013
Red C / Paddy Power Political Opinion Poll: FG 29% (+1), FF 22% (-), LAB 11% (-1), SF 15% (-2), IND 23% (+2)
— Paddy Power Politics (@pppolitics) August 8, 2013
But but…remember this?
Arroyo: “What was the reaction to the march last week? You didn’t tell us. Edna Kenny is now saying what..Enda. I keep saying Edna like Dame Edna. Edna Kenny says what?”
O’Domhnaill: “He has this, he has this serious worry because with a turnout like that all of a sudden it sends a shiver through the government, the main party in government em Fine Gael. And an awful lot of their TDs, which would be like their senators, congressmen whatever, they’re turning around and saying hang on you know..”
Arroyo: “Maybe we should shelve this baby..?”
O’Domhnaill: “This is something which should be kicked down the road a bit. There’s a serious risk in the marginal constituencies we could take a serious beating because the the the people who went to the rally and all the people out there beyond who are on LinkedIn, facebook and all that kind of stuff, they’re all signing a pledge. The pro-life pledge is they will not vote ever for anyone who votes for legislation to legalise abortion, right. So you’re talking about you know say in, if you look at the 30,000. That probably represents about 600,000 votes, right. That is an enormous, an enormous power surge em and if you take it away from one party, they’re finished you know. And they know it. So he’s hoping just to keep his party together.”
Earlier: Issues Of Life And Death
Previously: A Pro-Life Noraid
Fine Gael Government TD will most likely go viral with this video http://t.co/EomDYubNEF
— David McGuinness (@CllrMcGuinness) August 6, 2013
A stand off in Fine Gael Kerry South TD Brendan Griffin’s surgery.
(Fine Gael Cork County Council Councillor Michael Hegarty).
The car turned into the car park of a church and the driver, Mr Hegarty got out and ran from gardaí
…but Garda Cillian Barry gave chase and saw the man jump over a wall of the church yard and run to a derelict area where he found him hiding in bushes.
Garda Barry said he detected a smell of alcohol from Mr Hegarty and noticed his speech was slurred.
…and he brought him back to the garda car where he asked him to provide a sample of his breath. Mr Hegarty blew into the breathalyser and failed, leading him to arrest Mr Hegarty…
What happened next?
He got off on appeal.
Yay.
Previously: Councillor fails to annul drink-driving case after arrest on ‘non-existent street’ (Cork Examiner)
(Independent.ie)
(Students Darren Martyn (top) and Donncha O Cearrbhail,above left).
Justice Ryan adjourned the case until October to let them each bring €5,000 to court to pay for the damage to the Fine Gael site. She also asked the Probation Service to prepare a restorative justice report on the hackers.
This can involve a meeting between the offender and the victim to discuss the impact of the crime as well as a letter of apology and an action plan of activities.
The judge indicated that if the money is paid and the report is positive, the Probation Act would be applied which would see the students spared custodial sentences and criminal records.
Seriously Sam writes:
Am I the only one who is disgusted at Fine Gael pushing this one through the courts where they claim it cost 10k to put back up their crappy site and are making these kids pay 5k each, and go through humiliating apology letters crapola?
Hacking = bad. Agreed.
But small stunt and overreacting establishment using the FBI (FFS!) to track down some young folks for embarrassing the establishment….
(yesterday’s Irish Mail on Sunday)
Just what we need right now.
A new Catholic right wing party.
Finally.
Hello you two.
Terence Flanagan TD, who was expelled from the Fine Gael parliamentary party this week for voting against the protection of life during pregnancy bill, with Papal Nuncio Charles Brown at the American Ambassador’s residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, yesterday for July 4.
Meanwhile…
(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)
