SMOKES & DAGGERS
A mischievous mix of political asides with JOHN DRENNAN
■ PROPOSALS by the Leinster House ‘authorities’ to replace some political portraits with what one Dáil insider termed ‘giant TV screens’ displaying Dáil and Seanad proceedings have not gone down well among veterans. One source grumbled: ‘Soon this place will start to look more like a Ladbrokes bookies office than a house of parliament.’ Soon?
■ DÁIL exchanges have got lively of late, culminating in Helen McEntee’s ‘scumbags’ comments. Separately this week, Michael Lowry called Aodhán Ó Ríordáin a ‘lout’ after Ó Ríordáin incorrectly, called Lowry a convicted criminal. And Mary Lou McDonald spoke about ‘arsecovering’. But it was two weeks ago that the usually understated Thomas Pringle informed Danny Healy-Rae that you ‘don’t f***ing listen’ and that if he did ‘you might f***ing understand what people say’. Pringle is now a big hit on TikTok. Former TD Paul Gogarty must be wondering what it was he did so wrong.
■ AMID the ongoing flight of Fine Gael TDs, one observer last week noted of the simultaneous presence of Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue (EU Commissioner hopeful) and Barry Cowen (EU parliament hopeful) on the Dáil front plinth that ‘there’s more people want to leave here than to stay these days’. They added: ‘It’s worse than the gardaí’.
■ IF Charlie McConalogue does go to Europe, whispers reach our ears that veteran Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher is only raring to make a comeback. He’s only 75.
■ THIS week Senator Gerard Craughwell described his experiences of riots, informing Seanad Éireann: ‘I am probably the only person in this room who was ever actually involved in a riot.’ Fear not, he was on the right side. ‘I was sergeant-in-charge of a riot section, and we faced 15,000 people on that particular day,’ he explained. ‘I can tell the House that it is a damn scary place to be when one is facing a madding crowd.’ Imagine how they felt Senator. They were facing you.