O’Connell storm exposes rift in FG
Gulf opens up after TD went public with Walsh’s nasty tweets... but this is just the f irst skirmish in a bitter civil war over abortion
FINE Gael TD Kate O’Connell approached party chiefs over Barry Walsh’s nasty tweets before going public and bringing her case directly to her TD colleagues.
The revelation comes after a bruising week for the senior Government party and Leo Varadkar, who has been seriously wounded by the week-long furore over Mr Walsh’s tweets, according to party sources.
Though Mr Walsh resigned on Friday, the Taoiseach’s authority has been shaken over this and his mishandling of the homelessness crisis. There are concerns that a clique of semi-detached insiders has taken over the party.
These concerns were accelerated by claims that O’Connell tried to resolve the Walsh controversy internally before speaking out at a private meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party.
Sources told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Top apparatchiks within the party, Leo’s men, were approached and warned about Walsh’s tweets. Leo’s friends are already going around whispering the “loose cannon” line but they were told this would have to be resolved. A child could see that.’ They added: ‘Ironically, Walsh cut his own throat on this one when he took the floor at the Fine Gael national conference.’ One party source said: ‘Most people who had noticed his tweets thought Walsh was some Twitter clown; they were in shock when it was realised he was on the national executive.’ They added: ‘Obviously, the hierarchy thought Kate would go away when she was snubbed, they don’t have the measure of the woman.’ Instead, on Wednesday, she took the deliberate decision that she would, ‘reveal what was going on to her own colleagues’. One source noted: ‘The key thing was the screen-shots. TDs don’t understand the internet. You must hand them something on paper. Even ministers were shocked; one exclaimed: “Oh my goodness! Are you sure you have the right Barry Walsh?”’ One insider said: ‘Fine Gael are a family at war again,’ between the Coveney and Varadkar factions. Publicly, the Taoiseach, who is politically close to Walsh, called for his resignation. In private, though, Mr Varadkar’s supporters have been claiming: ‘Kate O’Connell is the most dangerous woman in Fine Gael; she is going to have to be curbed.’ However, an O’Connell source said: ‘A small Leo mafia is running the party. It’s a Trinity clique that knows nothing about rural people. Southside professors and all that.’ Sources said: ‘This is a huge embarrassment, Walsh is close to Leo. He is part of the Brian Murphy [Leo’s top advisor] clique.’ They claimed: ‘The hierarchy is in terror of Barry. He knows all the party’s secrets.’
Another source warned: ‘They would have cut his throat in a second, but Barry is litigious. He is absolutely close to Leo. You are not dealing with some flat-foot TD.’
TDs and senators also expressed concerns that the Government is reeling after a month of crises that have all been self-inflicted.
John Halligan on North Korea and ‘are you married?’, homelessness and now Barry Walsh, ‘the opposition don’t have to lift a finger these days’, they warned.
Members were also furious about the performance of Mr Varadkar’s close political ally Regina Doherty.
One senior figure said: ‘We needed a fire-blanket like Frances. Instead, Regina came in and threw another bomb into the building. No-one was in charge of the shop.’
Concern is also growing that the O’Connell versus Walsh dispute was, ‘shadow boxing prior to the big crisis on abortion’.
One TD warned: ‘This is the first shot of Fine Gael’s coming civil war on abortion. That woman has sharp elbows. Not only did she take out
‘The most dangerous woman in Fine Gael’
one of Leo’s main men, she also knifed one of Fine Gael’s leading Pro-Life advocates.’
Sources warned: ‘It is all quiet in public but privately the party is absolutely fragmented on the issue.’
One minister warned: ‘It’s not just urban versus rural; the Cabinet is utterly split on this. Creed, Coveney, Ring all the conservatives, how will they campaign? The leader is going to be in charge of a referendum that he absolutely does not want. ‘It is hardly an ideal circumstance.’ Sources warned: ‘Abortion for us is a recipe for chaos and division. In fact, it’s already here, even before the campaign has begun.’
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the actress and author Tara Flynn has lodged a complaint with the Fine Gael Executive Council over the contents of tweets by Barry Walsh.
Party sources confirmed: ‘The complaint was lodged by hand at the party’s HQ on Friday.’