Ring strikes a chord with Fine Gael faithful

Well that’s the last time I’ll offer free advice to Fine Gael. The next time they come looking I’ll make my services available but at a cost. The golden opportunity of nominating Heather Humphreys as Taoiseach while the ambitious Simon Harris became leader of the party has been lost. Heather would have been a very acceptable and capable interim captain, while Simon could have more time to tackle the many challenges confronting his party. Mary Lou must have muttered a “whew” when she saw that the prize of being the first female Taoiseach of the country remains very much open to her.

Mention of Mary Lou brings me to a matter that I have alluded to previously in these columns. Perhaps it is because of her fear that the so-called far right is capturing too much of the “popular ground” that has prompted her rush to judgement and ill-considered verbal diarrhoea. The latest gaffe, of course, her proclamation, in advance of the outcome, that she would re-run the recent referendums (with improved wording!) to get the right result from an electorate that is quite happy that they delivered the right result and no amount of quibbling over words is going to change their minds. Sinn Féin now has backed away from that ill-advised proclamation and it has also had a Damascus-like conversion in relation to the hate speech legislation currently being advanced by Justice Minister, Helen McEntee. Interestingly and, in my view quite wisely, Sinn Féin left the defence of their position to other spokespeople.

Sinn Féin, under Mary Lou, has enjoyed almost universal uncritical acclaim since she was elevated to leader after the decision by Gerry Adams to retire from political life. Mind you, there are people who would suggest Gerry has not gone away, you know. But, I’ll allow that Mary Lou is in complete control of Sinn Féin here. There have been some critics, notably Michael McDowell and Charlie Flanagan and political opponents. But, by and large, the media and the intelligensia (who are they?) have been kind.

That scenario has changed in recent times. Sinn Féin and its opposition tactics is coming under greater scrutiny, especially by the media. That is understandable, the media have a duty to question and challenge now that the prospect of Sinn Féin in government is very real. And, not alone is it very real but it is a prospect that is to be welcomed. Whatever about the successes, or depending on your point of view, the failures of this government, there is no doubt about the need for change.

Leo Varadkar ran out of steam. There are others in the party with the same affliction… not least those others who had thrown in the towel before Leo. The party has been in government, with the support of others, for a long time and has done a reasonably good job. It is, of course, somewhat surprising that the spotlight should be almost totally focused on Fine Gael. The question could just as easily be whither Fianna Fáil in this debate? But maybe that’s for another column. Fianna Fáil would quite rightly be outraged not to be included in these musings.

Michael Ring, as we here in Mayo well know, is one of the sharpest politicians in the country when it comes to gauging the mood of the people and especially the people within the Fine Gael fold. He has been centrally involved in the selection of the last three party leaders. He has been on the winning side in those contests even supporting Varadkar against the Real Taoiseach. A bit like Dev, he can look into his own heart and see what Fine Gael people think.

He was out of the blocks, even before Leo had departed the resignation plinth, railing against the hate speech legislation (beware Helen McEntee!) and calling for Fine Gael to abandon the 'woke' agenda and return to the traditional values of support for farmers, small business people, law and order, social injustice and care for those in society who have no voice.

It was a rallying call that struck a sweet note with Fine Gael people across the country (well, rural Ireland in particular) and served as a message of defiance to those who would write the epitaph of the party. It was also a timely announcement that Michael Ring was not about to go gently into that good night and was not about to cede to the Twitter tyrants who are making life intolerable for public representatives, as well as a host of other good and well-intentioned people. Ring let it be known that he was up for the fight. The gloves came off. He is a bare-knuckle man and no amount of Twitter twaddle will scare him.

Election campaign

Whatever about an early general election - and I don’t expect one- we are well into the election cycle with the Local and European contests set for Friday, June 7th. That’s just over two months away and any candidate serious about getting elected will be out on the road canvassing votes. I can’t vouch for this because I’m not into social media and Facebook and Twitter (now, I’m told, X) and TikTok and Instagram and Prof Google and Viber, not to mention Trump’s Truth Social which has made him a billionaire yet again, but I hear that Simon is a great believer in social media for getting the message delivered. I’m not so sure that that particular postman will go down well in Mayo. For my own part, I like to see the white of the eyes of any candidate looking for my number one. Call me old fashioned, if you like, but that’s the way it is.

I’ve previously mentioned that local elections are an opportunity for the electorate to give a kick up the transom (good man Paddy Donegan)! to the government of the day and even if it requires three legs to deliver same to the present outfit, they can expect no mercy from the increasingly disillusioned voters. Sinn Féin are well prepared in Mayo with a full team of candidates and they will do well in terms of an increase in the party’s vote share. Whether that will result in seats gained is another matter. It is difficult to dislodge the man/woman in possession and old loyalties die hard. 

John Cribben (Fine Gael, Claremorris LEA) and Seamus Weir (Independent, Ballina LEA) proven vote getters have decided to call it a day. That will open up opportunities for newcomers. Sinn Féin has announced a full slate of candidates and will be confident of adding to their numbers. They are going for a double in the Swinford LEA and are confident that John Sheehan can join Gerry Murray while Rosaleen Lally will be expected to add to their seat count with a win in Belmullet. Interesting times ahead.

The poppy and the lily

And so to James McClean - the Irish international soccer player recently retired. He was never the most elegant of footballers but, as he put it himself, in defiance of criticism from the pen pushers in the media, he was not a carthorse. He chalked up 103 international appearances, scoring 11 goals (two more than Roy Keane!) into the bargain. Not a bad player. 

I mention this because of his principled refusal to wear the poppy. He considered it would be a mark of disrespect to the people of Derry, many of whom lost their lives to the British Army. The poppy is a symbol of support for the British Army and is generally worn on Remembrance Day in memory of those who served and mainly died in the First World War. It is a worthwhile British concept but not one to force on others.

I’ve noticed in recent days that the Shinners, with the obvious example of Eoin O’Broin, have taken to wearing the Easter Lily for their TV interviews. Obviously, it is coming up to Easter but is there any good reason to flaunt a symbol of republicanism that could just as easily represent paramilitaries such as the INLA, the Stickies (Official IRA), the Provos and, to go back further, both armies in the Civil War? Sinn Féin is now a legitimate political party. Not an army. It is time to cut out the childish nonsense.