Opinion Fionnan Sheahan

Fionnan Sheahan

There's something rotten when legal fees take priority over a hospital bed 

Fionnán SheahanIt's not often you see those of a Pro-Choice or Pro-Life perspective agreeing on anything.

It's not enough to be the example, Leo, you have to lead by example too 

Fionnán Sheahan Leo Varadkar is a narcissist.

New money beats old money in Fine Gael as Big Phil chalks up a third Taoiseach 

Fionnán Sheahan Fair play to Cute Auld Phil all the same. That's a third Fine Gael leader who owes him an enormous debt of gratitude for making it to the Taoiseach's office by fending off internal challenges.

Fionnán Sheahan: New property proposal tackles capital double whammy 

Fionnán Sheahan In his speeches to the Fine Gael faithful, Leo Varadkar likes to emphasise how he'll be a leader for every part of the country "from Castleknock to Clondalkin and from Dungarvan to Doohoma".

A rumble in Rathgar: forget Leo and Simon - Eoghan and Kate is the real feud in Fine Gael 

Fionnan Sheahan 'That fellah is so fond of himself, he'd lick himself if he could." Before Eoghan Murphy was even a TD, a Fine Gael veteran had caustically assessed the future minister for Dublin 4.

Fionnan Sheahan on Enda Kenny: A man of the times who butchered a golden opportunity 

Fionnan Sheahan Doheny and Nesbitt, that well-known watering hole just around the corner from Leinster House and Government Buildings, was the scene for a latter-day celebration, akin to the Captain's table on...

Analysis: Endless Enda and his secret 'process' will keep him in power until summer 

Fionnán Sheahan Enda Kenny knows exactly how he is going to stand down. He has it all planned out down to the final detail.

Never bluff a bluffer: steely Kenny refuses to be bullied off the pitch 

Fionnán Sheahan After Enda Kenny's show-stopping performance, there was an insightful moment towards the end of the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last night.

Analysis: The scars of heaves past weigh upon Leo and Simon - but have they learned? 

Fionnán Sheahan Tears rolling down his face and being consoled by a colleague, Leo Varadkar stood in the lobby of Leinster House.

Fionnan Sheahan: Fine Gael's moral drift catches up with Enda Kenny at last 

Fionnán Sheahan The Fianna Fáil barstool boys gave Noel Rock a right going over.

'2016 was a measure of how opposing sides come together' 

Fionnán Sheahan 'For the first 50 years after independence the wounds were not fully healed. Our role in their making proving perhaps too sciatic a spot for probing.

Liberal agenda is about taking part, not winning 

Fionnán Sheahan 'If liberals are so f***ing smart, how come they lose so Goddamn always." - Will McAvoy in 'The Newsroom'

A horrifying assault on the spirit of France 

Fionnan Sheahan Anybody who has ever been in France on the 14th of July will be aware it's more than a national celebration.

Fine Gael can't afford to be left in 'leader limbo' by Kenny 

Fionnán Sheahan It's a lose-lose situation. Enda Kenny was putting the Fine Gael succession stakes on the long finger. Assuaging the concerns of his would-be successors, the Taoiseach spoke last year about his...

No Brexit for old men: time for Kenny to give leadership on EU to FG's next generation 

Fionnan Sheahan One of the advantages of Enda Kenny's attendance at EU leaders' summits was the ability to be free to sit in on the press conferences of EU heavyhitters.

Fianna Fáil fall into the Labour trap on water charges by chasing detail rather than... 

Fionnán Sheahan In a shock development, the talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil were finally going so well only to collapse nearing the final hurdle.

The Kenny Conundrum: after losing two battles, he's trying to salvage the war 

Fionnán Sheahan Enda Kenny reaches pension age on April 24. It's also the 100th anniversary to the day of the start of the Rising on Easter Monday 1916. If he had not become a TD 40 years ago, he'd be retiring...

Nation honours men, women and children of all persuasions in commemorations 

Fionnan Sheahan A democracy is always and must always be a work in progress...

Naughten plays numbers game as prodigal son outflanks Martin and Ross 

Fionnán Sheahan Denis Naughten was a natural born political wheeler-dealer. He learned the tricks of the trade at branch meetings and selection conventions.

FG's leadership problem extends beyond Kenny after its D4-centric campaign left party in... 

Fionnán Sheahan Within Fine Gael, there's an apocryphal tale doing the rounds about David Cameron's advice to Enda Kenny following his British general election victory, against all expectations, last year.

Fianna Fáil on motorway back as opposition benefits from Coalition collapse 

Fionnán Sheahan Fianna Fáil is on the motorway back. Five years on from the darkest day in its history, Micheál Martin's party has produced a stunning recovery with almost 23pc of the vote.

How bullying RTÉ worked for Sinn Féin at the last election, so the party is at it again 

Fionnán Sheahan The Shinnerbots is the nickname for the throngs of Sinn Féin supporters who seem to have little else to do but spend their days on social media criticising anybody who questions the party.

A fellah at the Ploughing told me the exact date of the General Election... 

Fionnan Sheahan A snapshot of all life in Ireland, the Ploughing Championship is also the ultimate political melting pot.

Crisis over: so do we want to go back to investing in health or just complain about the... 

Fionnan Sheahan Towards the back of the 'HSE's Budgeting and Service Planning 2016 Estimates Submission', there's a figure of €29.788m for "System Reform".

Adams rewriting of Provo history sees McAuley-types lionised by SF 

Fionnan Sheahan Ignoring the not inconsequential matter of a democratic mandate, Gerry Adams likes to criticise his party's political opponents for condemning the IRA of the Troubles era while commemorating...

Don't expect Kenny to back up Leo's stance 

Fionnan Sheahan LEO Varadkar has opinions and he's not afraid to express them, regardless of whether he'll be thanked for it.

Coalition feels water is gone past boiling point 

Fionnan Sheahan Leinster House was practically under siege yesterday. Historians will note what is now commonly regarded as the front of the building, was actually originally the back.

Coalition feels water is gone past boiling point 

Leinster House was practically under siege yesterday. Historians will note what is now commonly regarded as the front of the building, was actually originally the back.

Parish pump politicians have more to offer a Taoiseach than any new volatile alliance 

Fionnan Sheahan The prospect of an Independent TD in every constituency after the next general election is real.

Questions still remain in Ansbacher probe 

Fionnan Sheahan The terms of reference for the Moriarty Tribunal, passed by the Dail and Seanad in September 1997, are unequivocal around the issue of the Ansbacher accounts.

Puzzlement greets Coveney claim of Army protection 

Fionnan Sheahan Simon Coveney's claim the Army was being lined up to take to the streets to defend banks in a financial collapse was greeted with puzzlement yesterday.

Commissioner no new broom and still has point to prove 

Fionnan Sheahan Frances Fitzgerald was caught in a Catch 22 scenario.

Account dossier names whispered about 

Fionnan Sheahan Names on the list will shock the public.

'Ross for Tanaiste' isn't as crazy as it sounds 

Fionnan Sheahan The late Seamus Brennan would fondly recall the incident which came closest to collapsing the Fianna Fail-PD government in power from 1997 to 2002.

McDonald's blatant stunts and Adams's lack of credibility threatens Sinn Fein 

Fionnan Sheahan It was just another speaking engagement.

Collins never covered up sex abuse, Mr Adams, so stop making the comparison 

Fionnan Sheahan You'd think for $500 you'd get a better quality speech. When the address is delivered by a rewriter of history though, you'd hardly expect him to stick to facts.

Spirit of the butter voucher lives on as Coalition seeks water charges solutions 

Fionnan Sheahan Remember the butter voucher? Funded by the Department of Agriculture, butter vouchers were part of the social welfare system until as late as 1999.

More details will emerge the longer Mairia Cahill pursues justice 

Fionnan Sheahan No wonder Gerry Adams disappeared from public sight over the past five days as the Mairia Cahill case swirled around his leadership.

Adams on the run from Mairia's brave stance 

Fionnan Sheahan The "if" is dropping out of Gerry Adams lexicon when speaking about the treatment by the IRA of Mairia Cahill's sex abuse allegations.

Taoiseach knows that rate cut is what matters to voters 

Fionnan Sheahan After winning the Budget battle over the income tax rate cut, Taoiseach Enda Kenny pressed home the advantage yesterday by confirming there will be further rate reductions in the coming...

Noonan dangles the carrots – but will voters be enticed? 

Fionnan Sheahan Tanaiste Joan Burton was a great fan of the fictitious examples from the back of the Budget book when she was the Labour Party finance spokesperson critiquing the tax changes.

In left-right divide Fianna Fail just carries on sinking 

Fionnan Sheahan Whisper it softly. Make sure no one can hear. Fianna Fail wouldn't give any income tax cuts in this Budget. Shhhhh . . . They don't want anyone to know the party has taken a position on...

A bonus by any other name is still a bonus - even in utility firm 

Fionnan Sheahan What a way to dispel suggestions of being "another cosseted quango with a bonus culture" - get into a ridiculous dispute about the interpretation of the terms bonus and performance- related pay.

For Enda they vote, in Michael they trust 

Fionnan Sheahan 'Step into the side there, please." The gardai and stewards trying to clear a path through the throng at the Ploughing Championship for a fleet of four jeeps had a tough task.

Kenny gambles the public won't care about standards 

Fionnan Sheahan Bernard Durkan wouldn't be noted for his brevity, shall we say.

Robin Hood tax is Coalition's best shot at target 

Fionnan Sheahan The destination is clear. How to get there isn't quite apparent just yet.

USC is no temporary little arrangement for taxpayers 

Fionnan Sheahan The impact took a while to be understood by everyone.

Labour has a liberal shot left, and it's not abortion 

Won't it be a great boost to the status of the Seanad to have a referendum initiated there. The proposal will emerge from an all-party committee made up of members of the Upper House, the Senate chamber will host hearings to listen to the views of...

Reynolds tribunal and court battles were always fraught 

Fionnan Sheahan ALBERT Reynolds's encounters with tribunals of inquiry and the courts were highly contentious aspects of his career.

Beyond the 'emergency', there's 
no vision for life in normal times 

Fionnan Sheahan Decades after World War II ended, legislation brought in specifically to provide special powers to the State in time of war was still on the statute books, albeit in amended form.

Bruton generates a mixed reaction from FG 

Fionnan Sheahan In his 11 years as Fine Gael leader, he was never invited to deliver the oration at Beal na mBlath, the annual pilgrimage of Fine Gaelers and history buffs alike to commemorate the death of Michael Collins. The omission didn't appear to have anything to do with John Bruton's availability. During his time as leader in the 1990s, Bruton used...