Flanagan’s Black and Tan blinkers
SPEAKING of rebel songs… Charlie Flanagan’s attitude towards the Black and Tans commemoration, revealed in internal emails this week, shows he is tone deaf when it comes to the public mood.
Emails show the outgoing justice minister’s hands-on approach to the ill-judged – and ultimately ill-fated – RIC commemoration by suggesting Danny Boy as a musical backdrop, along with poems by Thomas Moore.
While Flanagan was apparently rubbing his hands in anticipation, members of the public were bombarding his department warning of riots in the streets if it went ahead. ‘It is trending on Twitter… and it is not exactly favourable… just type in “Black and Tans” and you’ll see what I mean,’ warned one. Even the Gardaí voiced concerns over the event but Flanagan ploughed ahead regardless.
On election day it became clear this was a monumental political disaster that would cost Fine Gael dearly. It allowed Sinn Féin to remind the electorate at every opportunity that ‘the Blueshirts never change their spots’.
Even former health minister James Reilly admitted it was the ‘main mistake’ that was brought up at the doors.
The commemoration was dropped, or deferred, with the benefit of hindsight.
We are paying government ministers a king’s ransom for their foresight – not for hindsight. Dessie Ellis’s impromptu rendition of Come Out You Black And Tans at the election count was illadvised, ill-judged and not befitting of a newly elected Sinn Féin TD. The thing is, Charlie Flanagan should have seen this coming.