Tusk goes full Irish
EU chief lists off bizarre list of things he claims to admire about us
EUROPEAN Council President Donald Tusk is a fan of Conor McGregor but has ‘mixed feelings about his latest fight with a bus in New York’.
Mr Tusk made the surprising comments during a ceremony at UCD yesterday in which he was made an honorary life member of the college’s Law Society, and in the midst of a long address outlining the depth of his love for Ireland.
In his 15-minute address, Mr Tusk revealed to the audience that he is a fan of Irish literary heroes such as Samuel Beckett and WB Yeats, as well as our stars from the worlds of film and music including Colin Farrell, Neil Jordan, U2 and Sinéad O’Connor, even though he said the latter ‘did go a bit too far’ when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II.
Mr Tusk, a Polish native, also heaped praise upon the Irish soccer fans who attended the Euro 2012 finals in his homeland and thanked Ireland for making him feel like ‘one of your own’.
‘My favourite memory from the Euro 2012 football championship is the Spain versus Ireland game,’ he said. ‘I am not talking about the result, but I remember how moved I was, like all football fans, when thousands of Irish supporters sang The Fields of Athenry, despite the defeat.
‘I was there with them in Gdansk at the time, not only in the stadium, but also in town after the match.’ He even joked that some of his political opponents in his homeland call him a ‘redhead’, and added: ‘From what I have told you about myself just now, it might seem that I am more Irish than some of you.
‘To sum it up, it is no surprise that I feel so at home here in Ireland, and that I greatly appreciate your generous distinction, and the fact that you’ve accepted me as one of your own.’
He continued: ‘Going back briefly to Gdansk: listening to the green crowd singing when it was already four-nil, I thought to myself that no-one celebrates their defeats as beautifully and as heartily as the Irish and the Poles. And history has given both of our countries quite a few opportunities for such celebrations. Lost uprisings, lost matches and singing out loud with tears in our eyes – this we have always been the best at, in the whole world.’
He praised both Irish poetry and rugby. ‘I am as delighted with the poems of Seamus Heaney as I am with the drop goals of Jonathan Sexton,’ Mr Tusk quipped.
He then got down to the some of the more serious topics as he raised the issue of Brexit – declaring that he doesn’t like the UK’s exit from the EU. ‘Actually, that’s an understatement,’ he continued. ‘I believe Brexit is one of the saddest moments in 21st-century European history. In fact, sometimes I am even furious about it.’
And he once again pledged his support to Ireland in the ongoing negotiations, as he said the year ahead would be mainly about Brexit. During a question-andanswer segment, Mr Tusk said that instead ‘of further integration’, we will be dealing with a damage-control process – adding that the Irish question will be at the centre of his attention.
During his speech, Mr Tusk said: ‘If Ireland is to become a new Ireland, she must first become European.’ He added that these words could be ‘dedicated to all other European nations’.
‘Especially now,’ he added. ‘In the times of Brexit when European entropy is again starting to compete with European gravity.’
He said that while we may have many reasons to be satisfied as a ‘generation which has united Europe’, we also have ‘reasons for concern, as a generation that could still unfortunately make it to the gloomy, and for sure spectacular, show of another European disunion’. He added: ‘You may think I am oversensitive to this threat, but our two countries don’t need reminding about how much effort, suffering and time is needed to build peace and unity without coercion... And how little time and effort is needed to undermine and demolish this structure.’
He also raised concerns about the impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland on the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
‘No-one celebrates defeat like the Irish’
IT is heartening to see EU Council president Donald Tusk publicly display his love – and knowledge – of all things Irish. From sport to literature, he certainly ticked all the Wikipedia boxes yesterday.
Still, in the words of an Irish playwright who didn’t make it onto Mr Tusk’s list, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. As in life, so too in politics, it would seem!