Independent.ie - Analysis RSS Feed

Heir apparent keeps his cool as knives are sharpened for FG leader

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

IF Richard Bruton comes to believe that Enda Kenny's leadership is a hindrance to Fine Gael leading the next government -- it's "bye, bye Enda".

With such a motley crew, no wonder he jumped ship

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THE bad news is that the Irish entry to the Clipper Round the World Race, Cork Clipper II, has been holed and is out of contention. The good news is that Fine Gael is supplying a crew, under its swashbuckling skipper Cap'n Wrong End Kenny. We catch him striding the quarter-deck now, as his parrot and financial adviser Dick Brutal sits on his shoulder, squawking: "Pieces of 7.9999 recurring."

Office politics snuffed out Fine Gael's brightest star

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

LIKE you, I've been listening to many opinions on the George Lee episode. The one thing that has stood out in all the conversations is just how out of touch the political insiders seem to be with the rest of the population. The political insiders -- the politicians themselves, party members and canvassers as well as the political pundits and correspondents who live inside the world of the Dail -- speak of George's betrayal, his petulance and something called procedure. Of his many crimes, the idea of not knowing your place appears to be a significant offence.

Welcome to Motown but without the soul

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THE last time I was in Detroit, my lunch date was stabbed in the neck and the man I was supposed to interview resigned in a stripper-corruption-gunfight scandal. The tyres of my rented Ford were slashed in the car park. Compared with Toyota City, however, it was almost Heaven.

While the world dithers, Iran is getting closer to a nuclear bomb

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THE attempt to talk Iran down from its nuclear ambitions is going badly. Yesterday, Tehran formally told the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog, that it would move further ahead with its uranium-enrichment programme. This will take it one big step closer to a nuclear-weapons capability.

Fionnan Sheahan: New-style politician felt chill of old-school system

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

GEORGE Lee went the wrong way about entering politics. He should have left his job in RTE two years ago and joined the Fine Gael branch in Cabinteely.

James Downey: Kenny left counting cost of failing to use priceless asset

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

'From his own viewpoint, he is probably lucky to have found out quickly how unsuited he was to the political life'

Kevin Myers: Failure is actually what independent Ireland has always done best. We even failed at prosperity

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THE Taoiseach's recent 1916 speech, and the warm reception the references to the "heroes" of the GPO got from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, were depressingly illuminating.

Sam Smyth: Fledgling George flees the playground of fantasy politics

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

THE reaction in Fine Gael and from his former colleagues in RTE was summed in the first text joke at 2.42pm, less than two hours after George Lee resigned. It read: "George Lee and Charlie Bird are fronting a new reality television show -- Celebrity Big Baby."

Was Lee right to quit? YES, says Martina Devlin

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

IN the real world events move quickly. But Leinster House is not the real world.

Lise Hand: A tale of two bombshells, rejection and loneliness

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Was it a case that Fine Gael, having landed themselves Sea the Stars, hooked their sure-fire winner to a jarvey in Killarney?

Was Lee right to quit? NO, says Kevin O'Shaughnessy

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Thanks George. You've wasted my vote and that of 27,767 of my fellow constituents.

Ian O'Doherty: Well, they do call it tough love

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

One of the main problems we face in society today is the one posed by children. After all, how many times have you entered a restaurant only to have your dining experience ruined by the sight of a small child being in the room?

Maurice Hayes: No victory lap for Mo but her heroics will not be forgotten

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

A HAPPY quirk of scheduling caused a biopic of Mo Mowlam to be screened on the Sunday evening in the middle of the negotiations at Hillsborough, and just when they seemed to be poised between success and failure.

John Cooney: Martin treads a righteous path beset with obstacles

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

SIX years after taking over from the disgraced Cardinal Desmond Connell as Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin is highly trusted by the public nationwide for his determined commitment to root out paedophile priests.

Ian O'Doherty: You thought Tommy was bad?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

It has the largest Muslim population in Europe, so it should come as no surprise that it also boasts the highest number of anti-Semitic attacks and graveyard desecrations.

Life returns to Australia's 'Road of Death'

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Australians mark-ed the first anniversary of the country's worst natural disaster yesterday with tears and a determination to rebuild after the devastating bush fires.

Eugene McGee: McGeeney's rebuilt unit riddled with fault lines

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

It was a sight I have not seen for quite a while -- Kildare followers leaving St Conleth's Park in droves with nearly a quarter of an hour left to play. They were witnessing the most shattering defeat they have had to endure in the McGeeney era, even worse than losing to Wicklow in the championship in 2008.

Nicholas Leonard: Brown's spin doctors are frantically trying to humanise his image as the election draws near

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

The Vatican is now more actively involved in trying to influence key political decisions in Britain than at any time since 1527 when Henry VIII clashed with the Pope over his plan to get his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Vincent Hogan: Nation laments lack of sparkle

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Even from the top-most rim of Croke Park, you could hear the grumbles begin to creak and groan, like early-morning rolling stock.

Vincent Hogan: King Robbie will hold court in league without majesty

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

You could identify something of a sneer in much of the coverage of Robbie Keane's move to Celtic last week. As the crow flies, Glasgow's East-end is a little less than 400 miles from North London but, for Keane, it must have felt like he was all but swapping galaxies.

John Drennan: If Cowen were any more distant, he’d be a tax exile

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:03:41 +0000

SOMETHING quite strange recently happened in America.

Eoghan Harris: Mac Giolla was a true pioneer of good politics

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:51:05 +0000

THE death of Tomas Mac Giolla barely made the back of the RTE bulletin. But his benign ghost hovered over Hillsborough.

The future is now... not 2016