Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man

Thus spoke a former leader of the Conservatives, Ian Duncan Smith (IDS) who was widely derided in this role. Yet, he is now the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and depending on your view he is working to redress the burden on the state and the tax payer and objectively, by some critics, is considered to be doing a good job. Across the water in the Emerald Isle there is another quiet man who like IDS spent years as leader of the opposition. Enda Kenny bided his time and unlike IDS clung on to the leadership role despite being derided near and far and wide. A skit on You Tube of his seeming audition on the X factor with clips of Simon Cowell interpersed with a performance of Enda at the podium is a case in point.

But Enda sat quietly on the opposition benches and to be honest, that was about all he had to do to ensure that his party wiped the floor with a Government in free fall in the last election in Ireland. Since then, this quiet man hosted the Queen of England and the President of America to the small country in the space of a week. He sought and got concessions on the EU handout to Ireland. But this week he surpassed himself with his pronunciation on the institution of the Vatican. Nice one, Enda.

The Party is well and truly over

Ireland has ended up with egg on its face. The responsibilities for it, it is said, are collective. As the Celtic Tiger slithered off to its natural home in the East, the hangovers set in and the revellers turned roundly on each other. Everyone blamed the developers, the banks, the government and the teachers. The public sector and the private sector were barely speaking to each other as they compared pension pots, conditions of service and what have you. The banks were at fault for dodgy practices. And Mary Harney still did not sort out the Health Service. Bertie and Bernie of course were at the helm, steering the whole caboosh into a stormy sea. Now it seems the state is becalmed. Ireland is forced to accept a handout and all the agony that goes with that. I was going to say that no-one died. But sadly, some did. Despair took some to the ultimate brink. Surely, there’s nowhere to go now but up again. Surely, this time, as situations improve people’s memories will encourage more use of the brake mechanism. It’s time for the Irish to reclaim their sense of humour and take pleasure in the things that mattered before. The talent, the music, the art and the poetry that was lost at the drunken party. Periods such as these can produce great creativity as people look to their inner resources to sustain them. It’s a great opportunity to bring back the sense of community that gave Ireland its soul. Perhaps history will look back on the Bertie and Bernie show as the lost years. Ireland will bounce back, we always do.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Sorry, is, in many respects, a throwaway word, uttered countless times during the course of a day. You accidentally bump into someone, you sympathise with the bereaved, you hurt feelings unintentionally or you merely want to ask a question and utter the word in advance. Today, the word is so necessary. Tony Blair is giving the profits of his much talked of memoirs to injured veterans of Iraq. The reason for his generosity, it has been suggested, is to restore his tarnished reputation. While I do not wish to deny the vets this facility, I am disturbed that Tony Blair remains resolute about his cavalier decision to take the country to war. Restoring his reputation, in my eyes, would best be done by coming out now, or indeed at any time, putting his hands up and telling us he got it wrong about Iraq and that he’s sorry. As long as Tony fails to utter this word, then all the sports centres for wounded soldiers in the world, will do nothing to restore his reputation in my eyes. Sorry, Tony, but that’s the way it is.