LEO Varadkar went all soft and best-mates when he mentioned Fianna Fáil’s leader in his FG Ard Fheis speech. “Let’s acknowledge tonight that our Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been a good one,” he said. “Through difficult circumstances, including the later stages of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, he has been a voice for decency, kindness and for common sense. We thank him.”
Maybe Leo made nice with Micheál to provide a contrast with his views on Sinn Féin in the same speech. He branded the Shinners “ultra-nationalist, populist and radical left”. And when someone asked him would he go into government with Sinn Féin, he told his Ard Fheis audience: “I gave them a clear and unambiguous answer from all of us – No… No way… not a chance.” Frenzied applause from the faithful. So take that, Mary Lou. Micheál Martin, decent and kind man that he is, doesn’t need an Ard Fheis to plant his Cork boot in Mary Lou.
Her party, Micháel says, are trying to “shut down debate”. What’s more, there is a “growing attempt [by Sinn Féin] to intimidate its critics”. And RTÉ as well. How do they do this? Well, apparently Mary Lou’s party has begun to take legal proceedings when people libel them. Damned cunning and unkind, wouldn’t you say? Using the law of the land against their libelling opponents. While heavyweights Leo and Micheál were drawing their breath, another voice was heard. It belonged to Jonathan Dowdall, once a Sinn Féin councillor. He quit Sinn Féin nearly a decade ago, claiming he’d been bullied. Odd, because Dowdall doesn’t sound like a man likely to be bullied.
Since quitting in 2015, Dowdall has been charged with kidnapping a man called Alexander Hurley, waterboarding him and threatening to kill him and his family. In 2021 Dowdall and his father pleaded guilty to helping with the murder of David Byrne in the famous Regency Hotel shooting. But then last month, Dowdall said he’d give state evidence against his former criminal friends and the charge of murder was dropped. With a record like that, Dowdall deserves attention when he speaks. The gardaí produced over 10 hours of secret recordings, in which Dowdall expressed, among other things, his distaste at the way Mary Lou didn’t attend the funeral of Edward ‘Neddy’ Hutch, and the way she “branded everyone as scumbags”. Dowdall also thought it was poor form that Mary Lou should have “slated Pearse”.
That’s Pearse McAuley, a former IRA man who in 2015 stabbed his wife Pauline Tully 13 times. Back in 2011, Dowdall is alleged to have made a €1,000 donation to Sinn Féin, so Fine Gael’s Neale Richmond and Fergus O’Dowd want Mary Lou to pass the moolah to the Community Safety Innovation Fund. Doug Beattie ( UUP) and Emma Little Pengelly (DUP) are also deeply concerned over the Dowdall thing and believe Mary Lou needs to provide answers to the allegations. The B(ritish) BC’s Mark Carruthers also wanted Mary Lou to explain how the actions of the IRA during the Troubles were any different from the actions of common criminals. Crikey – talk about a pile-on being launched at the SF leader.
It’s maybe understandable that rival political parties would want to damage Mary Lou, in the hope it’d stop the massive Sinn Féin surge. But when they draw on the taped ramblings of a criminal, or denounce Sinn Féin for using the libel laws, or when the BBC pretends it still can’t distinguish between the violence of our Troubles and a feud between rival drug gangs, it’s hard not to laugh at the fake moral outrage behind it all.
But here, when you stop laughing, do remember to turn up at Belfast Central Library, Royal Avenue, this Saturday (December 3) at 2pm, where I’ll be signing copies of my new book ‘Born on the Twelfth of July – Young and Foolish’. I’ve a few laughs in it as well.
