‘UNUTTERABLY PROUD’... BONO’S LETTERS TO LEO
Fawning rocker sings praises of Taoiseach and his ‘three wise men’
BONO has sung the praises of Leo Varadkar in a series of gushing letters – hailing him a ‘21st-century leader’.
In his sycophantic correspondence, the U2 frontman says he is ‘unutterably proud’ of the Taoiseach, and also fawns over Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Martin Fraser, a senior civil servant – describing them as the ‘three wise men’.
In two cajoling notes written to ‘Dear Taoiseach, Leo’ in recent months, the Dubliner doesn’t hold back i n his approval of the Fine Gael leader as he describes a pow-wow he organised with his fellow northsider as ‘inspiring’.
A confrontation by U2 of Donald Trump over his ‘sh* thole countries’
remark is even referenced in one of the letters to the Taoiseach.
Documents released to the Irish Daily Mail by the Department of the Taoiseach show how concerted efforts were initially made to find a time when Mr Varadkar and Bono were available to meet last year, with letters going back and forth between Mr Varadkar’s private secretary and assistant private secretary with a woman named Catriona, who is thought to be the U2 frontman’s personal assistant.
Eventually December 15 was settled upon, as a diary entry for the Taoiseach shows a dinner appointment f or Mr Varadkar, Bono, Department of the Taoiseach secretary general Martin Fraser, Jamie Drummond of Bono’s ONE charity as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.
Days later, on December 20, Bono wrote the Taoiseach a letter on paper headed with ‘Temple Hill’ – the name of his Killiney home – to tell Mr Varadkar he felt the evening spent in his company was ‘inspiring’. Much of the letter – which was released to this paper following a Freedom of Information request – was redacted, but the singer started off by addressing him as ‘Dear Taoiseach, Leo’.
The singer, whose real name is Paul Hewson, continued: ‘What an inspiring, brilliant evening and conversation. Makes me feel unutt erably proud… our country entrusted to three wise men, and their 21st-century leader.
‘This note may risk overloading you with thoughts just before the Christmas holidays, but I wanted to put them down while fresh in my mind… some things we can do right away to nudge along, if helpful, and some to mull on for the new year.’
Passages of the l etter were redacted as they were ‘ not relevant’, according to the department, and they related to ‘security, defence and international’ issues as well as ‘economic and financial interests of the State and public bodies’.
The singer signed off the typed letter with a handwritten signature, after he concluded with ‘lots of exciting stuff to plot and plan’.
‘Thanks again for making the time to discuss the poorest and most vulnerable far from our shores, on top of everything you are fighting for here at home. Yours with great respect, Bono.’
Earlier this year, on January 30, the Taoiseach’s private secretary received an email from Bono’s people, asking them to pass on an email which was once again addressed to ‘An Taoiseach, Leo’.
This time the Pride singer was writing to discuss Davos, with Bono hailing the Irish Government’s very own frontman for making his ‘presence felt’ at the World Economic Forum, in Switzerland.
‘I hope the dinner and the whole Davos experience were worth your while… that you met some useful folk, challenged some others… and that Jamie and the team were helpful and Sheryl [was] a fun neighbour at the dinner Wednesday?’ he wrote.
It’s thought the Sheryl he referred to is Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook.
‘By all accounts, you made your presence felt and Ireland proud over there,’ he continued. ‘I hear also there may be an Irish doubling on the cards for the Global Partnership f or Education, which would be great… a good down payment for the road to 0.7 and that doubling of Ireland’s footprint.
‘Let’s stay in touch on the steps ahead and if you have time do check out our intervention at the Grammys… All the best, Bono.’
In January, U2 weighed in on the controversy over US President Trump’s use of a derogatory term in discussing immigration from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries with high-level officials. Mr Trump had referred to them as ‘sh*thole countries’.
Later that month, U2 performed outdoors i n New York at the Grammy Awards, with Ellis Island and the Statue Of Liberty in the background and her f amous inscription about immigrants read as an introductory voiceover to their performance. As the band finished a performance of song Get Out Of Your Own Way, Bono declared through a megaphone: ‘Blessed are the sh*thole countries, for they gave us the American dream.’
The move was widely interpreted as a rebuke to Mr Trump over his remarks.
The letters are not the first time Bono has heaped praise on the Taoiseach. It was reported that during U2’s 2017 gig at Croke Park he said on stage that Mr Varadkar and President Michael D Higgins were ‘game-changers’ and ‘chieftains’. Oasis musician Noel Gallagher also claimed in an interview that the Taoiseach attended a party held in Gallagher’s honour at Bono’s house in July.
It was reported earlier this year that Bono had asked the Taoiseach – during his December meeting with the Tánaiste, Mr Donohoe and Mr Fraser – to spend more on Ireland’s overseas aid budget.
When Mr Varadkar’s predecessor Enda Kenny attended their concert last June in Chicago, Bono heralded him as ‘ our graceful leader’. He also hailed the late Garret FitzGerald as having ‘grace and intellect’.
There have been turbulent times recently for ONE, the charity targeting extreme poverty overseas and co-founded by Bono. Last week he told the Mail on Sunday he was left ‘reeling and furious’ and was ‘deeply sorry’ after bullying in ONE’s Johannesburg office was alleged.
‘Let’s stay in touch on the steps ahead’