McGrath, Fianna Fáil’s standby leader, won’t get caught out like FG’s Donohoe
Thirty years to the month since introducing Riverdance to the world at the Eurovision, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú still knows how to steal the show. A novice on the political scene, the Fianna Fáil European election candidate outmanoeuvred seasoned colleagues to the stage at the end of Micheál Martin’s speech to plant herself right up beside the leader, give him a hug and throw her arms up in the air to take the applause of the 800-strong audience.
The showbiz moment was about the closest the Fianna Fáil ard fheis got to a bit of excitement. After all the “energy” of the Fine Gael gig a week earlier with Simon Harris unveiled as the new leader, Fianna Fáil’s event was a more sedate affair.
Barry Andrews’ introduction of the leader certainly wasn’t as dull as the lecture from Mairéad McGuinness seven days earlier, but a history lesson on his family tree was hardly rabble-rousing stuff. Nonetheless, there were a few lines in there of note.
He took the compulsory potshots at opponents. “Sinn Féin say they’re not Eurosceptic, even though they have campaigned against every EU referendum since 1973,” he said. “And then there’s Putin’s puppets. If they all get elected, half of Ireland’s MEPs will be in the extremist, anti-EU far-left group.”
In his grandfather’s spirit, there were subtle shots fired from behind the Civil War lines as he described Martin as “a leader who is driven by social concerns and not by social media”.
He didn’t say who he was contrasting Martin with, nor did he name any names when he said: “Others may burn out; he stays the course.”
In a passing nod to the TikTok Taoiseach, Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee labelled Martin “The Green Tea Tánaiste”. Fianna Fáil seems very happy to emphasise the experience, longevity and substance of their leader. For now, anyway. Come back to us after the local and European elections if Fianna Fáil takes a pasting and they too may want some of that renewal, energy and back-to-basics.
With this in mind, the intriguing speech of the ard fheis was Michael McGrath’s personalised pitch to the Fianna Fáil faithful. Taking a leaf out of the Harris book, McGrath highlighted his own humble background. He told how his family originally lived in a small rented house in Cork city and were offered a local authority house in Passage West. His father, Jack, came from a small farm in Bantry in west Cork, and he did manual work all his life, including labouring on building sites in Cork and London.
When McGrath was seven, his father almost died from a serious illness, and couldn’t work again for the remaining 10 years of his life, up to his death in the mid 1990s.
“My mum worked in the home in the traditional sense, so from when I was very young after Dad couldn’t work any longer, the main income we had was his invalidity pension. It was our lifeline and we were glad to have it. The
State was there for us when we needed it.
“My mum Marie was widowed in her early 40s, my younger sister was only five at the time, my parents were long-term foster carers and my mum continued to provide foster care on her own to my brother Patrick. She kept the show on the road, and we couldn’t have asked for a better mum. It wasn’t easy.”
Scholarships and a student support fund in UCC allowed him to go to college, study for a commerce degree and go on to an accountancy career, before going into politics. “I did this because I wanted others to have the opportunity I had. The truth is I’ve always felt that public service is a very noble thing, and I wanted to make a difference, and to do all I could to give to others the chance to fulfil their dream.”
McGrath said his background is not unique, but he suggested people will be able to relate to it. “We are a party that believes everyone should have the opportunity to progress irrespective of their background. We believe there should be a safety net for everyone that needs it,” he said.
It was far from the Merchant Princes of Cork he was reared and it has influenced his outlook. The privileged private school-educated leaders on the opposition benches should also take note.
McGrath’s narrative was pretty compelling but it also served to introduce his background to an internal and external audience. The coming months will be pivotal for Fianna Fáil, with June’s elections to be followed by the selection of a European Commissioner, just months out from a general election.
Don’t assume the leadership ranks of the party won’t change. McGrath has first refusal on the commissionership but this was not a speech by a fella intending to head off to Brussels.
The suggestion Fianna Fáil has no alternative to Martin as party leader no longer applies with the post-Celtic Tiger crash generation now having cabinet experience under their belt. McGrath and Darragh O’Brien have both served a full term in a big portfolio. O’Brien is a definite contender too, but McGrath has positioned himself as the standby leader.
The sudden departure of Leo Varadkar shows politics is never predictable and anybody with ambition has to be ready. Simon Harris was prepared. Paschal Donohoe wasn’t, as he was distracted by the bright lights of the IMF in Washington DC.
McGrath won’t get caught out. He’s keeping schtum about the Brussels job and the Finance Minister is also opening up the purse strings ahead of Budget 2025.
It’s only mid-April and we already know the shape of the tax package for September’s Budget. Donohoe’s message of fiscal probity in 2020 didn’t work at the ballot box. The Coalition won’t be taking that tack again.
‘McGrath has first refusal on the commissionership but this was not a speech by a fella intending to head off to Brussels. O’Brien is a contender too, but McGrath has assumed “standby leader” position’