SF statement after court case
"Willie O Dea apologises in court, withdraws misleading affidavit and pays damages to Sinn Fein councillor"
For me that says it all. Being realistic if SF were to have gone for him publicly he'd still be in office. The old boys club in Leinster House would have closed ranks.The real question is why it took so long for the opposition parties to raise the matter.For months it seemed acceptable practice.Only for a solo run by a FG senator it'd still be buried
Agreed. How any Shinner could imagine how things worked out, is impossible. There is a concerted media policy to lie and fabricate regarding the party, and to not report on anything positive. FG does not exactly have a good track record in relation to the party,and never before let a small matter like the law get in the way. However they did this time, and fait dues to them, a sign of a party maturing.
Im not so sure its a sign of that.Was it FG policy to raise this matter and if it was why in such a strange manner.Surely Enda dropped the ball in allowing a senator to raise the matter, maybe they were just employing FF tactics to see how it flew.Actions of the past week dont suggest to me FG will offer much more in terms of accountability
Maybe they were letting the Senator take a good run at it. Get some media attention. Could be a boost for him if he went for the Dail in the next election.Originally Posted by pjoz
Possible.Or maybe he broke ranks because he's got more integrity than the rest.A SF rep brought this case to court,exposed WOD for what he is and it takes the rest of the opposition months to take it up.Rather than clapping them on the back we should be asking why such a delay in doing the right thing?
Sinn Fein cant complain -Maurice Q. got a national profile -got willies head on a plate and got his money.
Had the shinners started screaming and looking for willies head after the court case -do you really think the media would had run with it and given the oxygen of publicity -would Kenny and Gilmore joined in and back them?
The shinners were first to call for J. O'Donaghues head but the media ignored them and jumped when Labour took up the axe.
Agree with your sentiments. Id love FG and Lab posters to explain why it took so long to bring WOD to task politically. It was an open goal and yet for months no one took a shot.Are people really expected to believe FG sat down and said lets get a senator to raise this to give his profile a lift.
RE - JOD, if SF didnt call for his head id hazard he'd still in situation. FG and Lab uncomfortable in siding with SF views on the issue despite the lavishness of JOD lifestyle at taxpayers expense
If you want to know the real reaction of some FG and Lab posters to this whole affair, then go look at the original thread where the O Dea issue was raised initially. It is instructive, as that particular thread has been credited on a number of occasions during the week with being responsible for keeping this whole thing alive.
FG and Lab posters were downright hostile to Maurice Quinlivan simply because he was a member of Sinn Féin, going as far in some cases as to say, he was not entitled to his constitutional rights simply because of his political allegiances. A fine bunch of democrats there eh.
The whole affair also brings into focus, the downright hypocrisy of sections of FG and Labour. FG especially, who now claim credit for it all. They had no care for this incident whatsoever until Eugene O Regan, for whatever reason but fair play to him, brought the issue up in the Seanad. And even then, they only rounded on O Dea, when instead of shutting his mouth, which Willie could never do, he attacked O Regans family. Then they rallied around, and to be honest, I still don't think they can believe their luck with how it all turned out, especially after their embarassment the week before with George Lee. Unbelieveably, you have some of their posters claiming that the whole thing was a "finely tuned attack, planned since Christmas, when it wasn't pursued until the timing was most politically fortuituos". Will ye ever get a grip and cop ye'reselves on. You couldn't have got luckier with the combination of timing and Willies utter stupidity on the News at One, along with Dan Boyles reckless use of twitter.
On the broader issue, both FG's and Labour attitudes towards Sinn Féin is steeped in hypocrisy. Ask either Kenny or Gilmore would they be prepared to coalesce with Sinn Féin after an election and the immediate response is no way, for fear of spooking the more reactionary elements in both parties, who believe that membership, or even former membership of Sinn Féin, which I can personally attest to, is reason enough to treat a person as less than deserving of their constitutional rights.
However, why then did Eamon Gilmore for example, participate in a vote sharing agreement with Sinn Féin at the last Seanad elections to ensure both Phil Prendergast and Alex White were elected, along with Pearse Doherty. Also, they gave up Dáil speaking time to Sinn Féin in return. Speaking time which was well used in a three pronged attack on both John O Donoghue and Willie O Dea, providing a united front which ensured the fall of two high profile FF TD's.
And also, why are FG not admitting that they are one of the biggest obstacles to getting rid of the current Government, by not providing an out for the Green Party, because of their steadfast refusal to contemplate Sinn Féin support in any Government which would take its place, á la the Rainbow Government in 1994. I know some people might not agree with me here, but the hard political reality is simple, the Greens are going to hang on by their fingernails to the current set up rather than face the electorate.
A new Rainbow, including SF, would have 2 years to do its work, and prove to the people that it can provide an alternative to a FF lead Government. How badly do FF or Labour think they would be punished at the polls if the new Government actually worked ? Not at all in my opinion. The reality is, the vast vast majority of people don't give a damn who is in power, so long as the country is run well. United, sort the problems out, and then offer yourselves again to the people in two years time, and you would be rewarded.
But that would take political courage. Something sadly lacking on all sides of the Dáil.
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Thanks Verhofstadt
The reaction of some FG supporters to me over the past few years has been very enlightening in this regard. Just a few small examples.
I helped Seamus Healy in his election campaign back in 2000 when he won the bye election seat in Tipp South. On the day of the count, I got talking to two well dressed fellows for Dublin about the election campaign, and politics in general. Turned out they were from FG headquarters and were in Tipp for the Hayes campaign. We chatted for 20 mins or so, and was really getting deep into policy matters and whatnot, when one of them finally said "You are fairly clued into politics, are you a member of any party?". I said yes, I was a member of Sinn Féin but was helping Seamus because he was a family friend and SF werent running a candidate. Their faces literally blanched. They were dumbstruck, and you could see the discomfort on their faces immediately. Within 30 seconds, they made an excuse and went to the opposite end of the hall as if I were carrying some disease. About 10 minutes later, they came back. And fair play to them, both apologised for what they did, and admitted they simply couldn't believe that I was a member of Sinn Féin, because I "didn't look like one" (wasn't wearing the Celtic jersey apparently), and because of my knowledge of politicals and policy matters. I shook ny head while telling them it was ok, I was used to it, and babies tasted lovely with Chef Brown Sauce, which gave them both a good laugh
On a second occasion, I was chatting with Tom Hayes at a funeral in Clonmel, when a rather snooty nosed women came over to chat to him. She then asked him to introduce me to her as well, and you could see that Tom was uncomfortable. But he did, and I said my polite hello's. She left pretty quick, and he turned to me to tell me that "I'm in f**king trouble now. That was the chairperson of FG in ************ (would be unfair to mention), and she'll have the branch secretary sending him a letter to denounce him for being seen publicly with a member of Sinn Féin. Would be laughable if she wasn't so serious.
That said, I have no problem with 99% of FG members. A lot of the posters on here are dead on, and I've met them for pints and had great craic.. you lads know who you are. But, their are still some right reactionaries idiots in the world, who think I'll turn up to a pub with a balaclava and an armalite.
Mad really.
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