SMOKES& DAGGERS
Inside the corridors of power...
AS FáILTE Ireland announced its Ancient East initiative, the touristic equivalent to the ‘All other routes’ road sign, one tourism chief was forced to deny some unkind gossip, according to Today FM political correspondent Gavin Reilly. ‘There is no truth in the rumours that the Wild Atlantic Way is being renamed the Ring Road,’ O’Reilly quoted the Fáilte man as saying. The reference is, of course, to junior Tourism Minister Michael Ring who, if not the main mover behind the Wild Atlantic Way certainly claimed the most credit.
CONSTANTIN Gurdgiev made a curious contribution to the Grexit debate this week. Responding to a tweet by Alex Tsipras, left, announcing he was to meet Keynesian economist Paul Krugman the next day, the Russian advised: ‘Make sure he pays the tab cause all you’ll get is “Spend moar, moar… not enough … moar!”’ Smokes assumes the spelling of ‘more’ is Gurdy’s attempt at a New England accent rather than an infelicity.
HOW broke is Fianna Fáil? Patrick McKee was the FF councillor who threw his rattle out of the pram when he was rejected as its candidate in the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election, then jumped ship to stand for Renua. Two weeks later, his Fianna Fáil opponent, Bobby Aylward, was still handing out pamphlets featuring McKee as a prominent member of ‘Your Fianna Fáil team in Kilkenny’.
A MIDDLE-aged female relative of Renua TD Terence ‘Brain Freeze’ Flanagan was overheard chatting about him to a lady friend on the Dart last week. Eligible Terence dropped a bombshell on Miriam O’Callaghan last week: he has a girlfriend. The friend repeatedly asked the family member had Terence ‘any news’ – but each time she skilfully changed the subject. Pity Terence didn’t inherit that skill at evading questions rather than
just clamming up live on Drivetime.
SINCE Bertie blazed the trail in the early Noughties, even lefties like Mary Lou McDonald, left, don’t mind being seen in Lanzarote. The SF deputy leader, Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins and Fine Gael Senator Michael Mullins were all there last week and Ms MacDonald was even seen in a posh restaurant.