As ever, it’s impossible for a small outlet like ours to cover everything that happened in Ireland and the world this week in great detail, which is why it’s useful, on a Friday, to offer a short roundup of news and gossip and thoughts that went un-said during the week.
Let’s get into it:
- It’s hard to underestimate the degree to which Fine Gael received a double blow this week. Most people of course know about the death of John Bruton, but the shock in the party is probably even greater at the news about a person most of you have never heard of: Sean McKiernan. McKiernan was the youngest Chairman of Cavan County Council in its history, at age 29. He was a member of the Fine Gael national executive for years. He is very close to, and on first name terms with, many senior figures including the Taoiseach. He is also, full disclosure, somebody your reporter knows quite well, and, in truth, always liked. This week he was arrested and charged with the theft of €170,000 from a mental health charity, which, it’s fair to say, has sent shockwaves through his party. A case worth keeping an eye on, because McKiernan is no small fish. Fine Gaelers I talked to this week were genuinely shocked and upset by the allegations. As, I must say, was I.
- Speaking of things worth keeping an eye on, Joe Biden this week referred in the present tense to his recent meetings with French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The only trouble is that Mitterrand left office in 1995 and died in 1996, while Kohl left office in 1998 and died in 2016. Are these the flubs of someone who is having the occasional “senior moment”, or are they in fact much more serious than that? It’s not as if he mixed up his Merkels with his Macrons, after all – he’s talking about people who’ve been out of office a quarter of a century or more. There are three Presidential debates scheduled for this September, each of them 90 minutes long. Does the Biden campaign really hope to keep Joe upright and making sense for four and a half hours? All the money and organisation in the world won’t save Biden if he appears dazed and confused on stage. On that note, his press conference last night was something to behold, if you haven’t seen it.
- I fear we’re becoming truly numbed to the horrors playing out in our courts week on week. A decade ago, the tale of a man who is facing charges that boiled a pot of water and then tossed it on his sleeping wife, before smashing her over the head with a hammer, would have dominated the news all week. This week, the case was just another tale of human misery in modern Ireland. It’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s a moral rot at the core of our society, but talking about such things gets you nowhere these days.
- I’ll get in trouble for this with some of you but I don’t care: I was deeply bemused by the framing of the Hamas/Israel peace talks this week. A sample headline in an Irish newspaper read as follows: “Hamas responds to Gaza truce framework but sides appear to remain deadlocked”. Hamas rejects ceasefire was too hard to write? Apparently, Hamas is demanding a full withdrawal of all Israeli troops, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and an end to all economic restrictions on Gaza. Aren’t those the kinds of demands you’d make when you’re winning a war, and not when you’re losing it on the battlefield? Or does only one side have a duty to make a viable peace offer?
- The new Northern Irish Government finally took office amidst much fanfare about “getting back to work on the real issues”, but one might have noticed that all the coverage and the talk was about the usual blather – peace, reconciliation, Irish unity – and very little of it was about health and education and roads. In London a few years ago an exasperated British politico said to me that the problem with Northern Ireland is that its politicians are addicted to international attention, and – direct quote that stuck with me – “recruitment plans for nurses don’t get you invited to the White House”. Perhaps this lot will surprise us, but personally I give it three months max before the next constutional good friday agreement crisis that mysteriously demands high level meetings in Number 10 and Government Buildings.
- Staying with matters British, Rishi Sunak’s foot-in-mouth moment this week, joking about the definition of a woman in the presence of the mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey is more evidence that he just isn’t very good at it. Obviously, I share his views on the matter at hand, but it is more than a little bit distasteful to start talking about who is and isn’t a woman in the presence of a mother who’s transgender child has just been savagely murdered. This is a case made in a memorable Prime Minister’s questions sketch, which is well worth your time, by Robert Hutton over at The Critic. A fourth PM in one parliament might be unprecedented, and confirm the idea that the Tories are simply an unserious party, but it’s increasingly hard to watch Sunak and think that a change could possibly be any worse. You’re going to get obliterated anyway – might as well roll the dice at this stage.
- Monday’s immigration protest was certainly larger than many in the establishment expected, giving more credence to the increasing pile of evidence that this is no longer just a fringe issue. But lads: Marches don’t do much except make you feel good about yourselves. While you’re marching, the established parties have canvassing plans for every housing estate, candidates with leaflets printed and ready to go, and posters ordered. All the grassroots energy in the world is no substitute for proper organisation. And on that front, the very public collapse in unity in the Farmer’s Alliance this week is just more evidence that when it comes to organisation, Irish populists are a mess. My feeling is still that the June elections will come 5 years too early for those demanding truly radical change.
- Finally, a Netflix recommendation: Die Kaiserin (The Empress) is entirely in German with subtitles, and it’s a bit of a romantic version of history complete with Netflix’s usual dollop of invented sex and scandal, but if you like a beautifully shot costume drama that is (mostly) based on real history, then this biopic of the Austro-Hungarian Empress Elizabeth is well worth your time. Great cast, and some of the cinematography is genuinely breathtaking.
Until Monday, have a great weekend.