SMOKES& DAGGERS

Inside the corridors of power...

WE NOTED district court Judge Seamus Hughes’s withering putdown of Alan Shatter’s literary efforts this week. Judge Hughes said the Justice Minister was ‘too busy writing love books’ to have a proper grip on the drugs issue in Longford, according to Longford Leader. ie. Shame, sir! Books like that keep columns like this in business. ONE of the country’s top political correspondents, our very own John Lee, was finally taken off the market this week when he married the lovely Lorraine. His colleagues clubbed together to give their wedding present in a brown envelope. GERRY ADAMS’S surreal meanderings on Twitter have raised eyebrows during the year, populated as they were with teddys engaging in same-sex marriages and the like. On Friday, he delighted in sharing how he had received a Christmas present of a yellow rubber duck. A case of ‘ducky ár lá’? ENDA KENNY was at his weirdest in paying tribute to Nelson Mandela earlier this month: ‘As we mark his passing, we give thanks for the gift of Nelson Mandela. We ask that his spirit continues to inspire, guide and enlighten us as we strive to bring freedom and dignity to the family of man, our brothers and sisters, across the world.’ Funny, we had thought Enda had spent the past three years hiking taxes, cutting spending and legislating for abortion, when all that time he had actually been striving to bring freedom and dignity to the family of man. Keep up the good work, Enda! LUCINDA CREIGHTON may have left Fine Gael but she hasn’t quit her post in FG’s European political grouping. Lucinda has held her position as vicepresident of the European People’s Party. There are 10 elected vice presidents from 40 countries around Europe – and she says she feels a little in awe of some of her fellow VPs. ‘We’ve three commissioners, we’ve two ministers, a number of MEPs and one or two members of national parliaments, that’s the composition and everybody is basically an office-holder.’ No bother to you, Lucinda!