After an action packed week that included delivering speeches, causing a stir with his United Ireland views and revealing his “inner Sinn Féin”, in the words of the party’s leader Mary Lou McDonald, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar kicked back by hosting a gathering for his 2017-2020 cabinet colleagues. Varadkar invited them to a lavish dinner at the luxurious Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club situated in Dublin’s D4 area on Thursday night. Of the 33 potential attendees, 16 managed to join the evening’s festivities. Heather Humphreys, the Social Welfare Minister, was the sole guest preparing for a re-election. Additionally, she was bestowed the moniker “Three Billion Dollar Woman”, alluding to the upcoming pre-election budget. The troupe from Fine Gael welcomed four independent members from Varadkar’s government, including Shane Ross, Finian McGrath, Denis Naughten, and Katherine Zappone, whose appearance astonished certain guest since she relocated mainly to New York after her political career in Ireland. A sumptuous meal of smoked salmon, a choice of sirloin steak or duck for the main course, and desserts of apple tart and lemon posset pleased the palates. A cabinet-style table setting was arranged, complete with corresponding name cards. The atmosphere was lively, more so for those planning to retire from Leinster House upon Simon Harris’s election announcement, including Simon Coveney, Richard Bruton, Michael Ring, and Michael Creed. The current Taoiseach absented himself due to an extended leaders’ meeting at Government Buildings, and a rush to honour his mother’s 60th birthday celebration.
Apologies to our mature readers who are suffering a degree of shock upon the realisation that not only are they significantly older than the current Taoiseach, but even older than his own mother too.
The evening started with Finian McGrath whipping out his guitar and beginning a lively singsong with a collection of traditional ballads. He then invited others to join in the tunes.
Unexpectedly, Leo offered to participate in the musical fun. Loudly proclaiming, “I’ll sing,” he engaged in a rousing rendition of “Dublin in the Rare Ould Times.” An image which shall forever be burned into our minds.
Paul Kehoe from Wexford, serving as Leo’s chief whip, bashed out Boolavogue, while Heather Humphreys performed a small, melodic number reportedly about a dog.
The biggest surprise of the night was Josepha Madigan’s version of Hazel O’Connor’s “Will You?”
The soirée rolled on till the small hours, concluding with resolving to repeat the fun for the ex-cabinet members who were unable to attend.
Regarding the always delightfully grumpy Vincent Browne, he was in grand spirits at Patsy McGarry’s memoir launch in the Mansion House on Tuesday evening.
The Oak Room was filled to the brim for the occasion, and without discrediting our esteemed friend and co-worker, Patsy, Vincent’s attendance was indeed a major attraction.
The seasoned journalist gave no quarter, stirring the pot even before he officially launched “Well, Holy God: My Life as an Irish, Catholic Agnostic Correspondent”. He shared the honour of launching the book with clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins.
He fanned the flames when Lord Mayor James Geoghegan – of Fine Gael and a general election candidate for Dublin Bay South – came forward to address everybody. Incredulous, Vincent voiced his puzzlement about his presence to Patsy, the Lord Mayor and everyone else within his hearing; with the repeated question “What exactly is he doing here?”
Understandingly, he felt that Cllr Geoghegan was exploiting the event for political gain, taking a rather disapproving view. Still, Patsy peacefully mitigated the situation, revealing that he had requested the Lord Mayor to give a short speech as the latter had generously provided the Oak Room to honour the large number of survivors present.
James took everything in stride, acknowledging the propensity of politicians to be accustomed to the “Vincent brand”. Within the crowd were the former Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, who Vincent rated a perfect 10, and Dublin’s latest auxiliary bishop, Paul Dempsey, who was transferred (their wording) from Ballaghaderreen (Achonry diocese) the previous spring. A significant gathering of the Ballaghaderreen expatriates rallied in support of their fellow Rossie.
In his address, Browne confessed that Irish journalism failed to perceive the reality of sexual abuse by clergy for years, inexplicably ignoring the evidence in front of them. “It’s inexcusable that we didn’t see it because the signs were painfully obvious,” he noted. He attributed the relentless accountability of the Catholic Church as the work of “Patsy McGarry”.
However, it wasn’t all in the form of compliments. “Too many references to Mary McAleese in the book. Excessive!” he griped. Patsy later declared to surprise and indignation that the ex-president McAleese will be unveiling the book in Ballaghaderreen next month.
The most anticipated event of the week was the roll-out of the sports capital grants programme. The supreme reward is not only being the first to announce the positive news locally but also taking credit before anyone else does. The concrete details were formally revealed on Wednesday by ministers belonging to the three coalition parties, followed by the customary leaks and heated debate on Tuesday.
The scheme approved a total of €230 million for facilities, an increase of 50 per cent compared to the last allocation in 2022, with close to 2,000 individual grants approved for 40 distinct sports.
The Sports State Minister, Thomas Byrne (FF), who is notably against non-selective leaks, finalised a list, which was then forwarded to his superior minister Catherine Martin. Her office distributed the list to the three participating bodies at 5.10 pm on Tuesday evening, subject to a publication ban until 11.30 am the next day.
How naive they are.
Before the list could even exit the department, it had already been leaked. Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher took it upon himself to send the list in full to every FF councillor in the country by 4.37 pm.
News of this quickly got back to Leinster House, causing havoc. Eighteen minutes later, a second message titled “Robbie Gallagher would like to recall the message” was delivered to the councillors, just in case they had missed it earlier.
Senator Gallagher, based in Monaghan and now affectionately known as Total Recall Robbie, has even had a poster made in his honour based on the Arnold Schwarzenegger film with the same name – it’s currently making its rounds.
Haughey’s Helipad
With the Leinster Lawn bicycle stand and the Department of Finance security booth getting their moment of fame, it’s more than likely that these two modest buildings won’t be the last instances of extravagant infrastructural developments in the Kildare Street/Merrion Street campus to make the news.
The past is proof.
The exorbitant £17 million renovation of Government Buildings approved by Charles Haughey in the 80s caused nationwide shock, with Haughey’s vision for his luxurious residence known as Chas Mahal, virtually going through the roof. An elevated landing strip was installed over the Taoiseach’s office in the west wing of the building, featuring a private staircase leading to it. Haughey took immense pride in showing off this feature to visitors, regardless of the wind’s cruel effects on hairstyles.
True to form with many vanity projects, the helipad was not up to standard and was generally avoided by military personnel. Haughey was the only Taoiseach to utilise it, and following his tenure, the helipad fell into disuse and was eventually decommissioned. The helipad still exists, with Haughey’s “H” emblazoned on top as a testament to his tenure.