Last year was always going to be a hard act to follow but Eamon Gilmore’s leadership address tonight was disappointing, even if it did push many of the right buttons.
Once again, no other Irish politician does empathy with human suffering as well as him (or his speech writer). Read the rest of this entry »
The Conference Hall, post Leader's Address
Gilmore’s address contained nothing entirely unexpected. There is little a party leader can say these days that has not been said before, be in in a party address or in the Dáil. Read the rest of this entry »
Labour’s debate on the recommendations of its 21st Century Commission reminded me of similar debates at past congresses of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). It wasn’t just because many of the younger speakers also popped up at USI debates, but the nature of the debate – disagreements about how the organisation should be structured and run – often featured at those gatherings of student representatives.
Paul Dillon, a former president of UCD Students’ Union was one of the most articulate speakers on the opposition side in Mullingar. He was joined by several Labour Youth delegates and speakers from the party’s Northern Ireland organisation. It was clear from the reception they received that many delegates sympathised with their cause. Read the rest of this entry »
Not surprisingly Labour delegates have voted overwhelmingly in favour for the implementation of the 21st Century Commission Report this afternoon, a move party members feel places them on the ‘cusp of greatness’.
During the debate there were 14 members speaking against the commission and 13 proposing it. That more people would take to the stage to oppose was not lost on some party members, specifically those in opposition.
The mood from both sides was that this was a deciding moment in the creation of a Labour party that could feasibly offer decisive alternative leadership after the next election. Speakers against the commission were keen to stress that their opposition to Eamon Gilmore’s proposals was not an opposition to Gilmore himself. Read the rest of this entry »
Something of a downer for Labour on the day that’s in it. Tomorrow’s Red C / Sunday Business Post poll:
FG 31 (+1)
FF 28 (+5)
Lab 17 (-5)
SF 7 (-4)
Green 7 (+1)
Others 10 (+2)
Greeting from the Labour Party conference in the ‘Gar (as I’m told they call it here). Ciara and I arrived just in time for Gilmore’s speech and since then we’ve been desperately looking for something to blog about, such has been the dearth of newsworthy happenings.
Not that Gilmore’s opening remarks to the conference didn’t have anything new in it. Read the rest of this entry »
And a warm welcome from the centre of Ireland, the heartland, the Lake County….
The Mullingar Park hotel is alive with perhaps a few less than the 1,000 delegates expected in Mullingar this weekend. Motions this evening have included social and family affairs, education and agriculture.
Eoin has an overview of the motions thus far and anything noteworthy that has cropped up.
The mood in the hotel is buoyant, Labour are topping polls at the moment and there is much talk of becoming a viable third option for Ireland’s voting public. Read the rest of this entry »
Given the seriousness of our economic situation, there was some speculation around City West on Saturday that the television audience for Cowen’s speech to the Soldiers (his fourth ‘State of the Nation,’ as it were) might break the 500,000 mark. In the event he pulled in 375,000.
That amounts to a decent 24.6% of the audience at that time. I suppose expecting the half mill was wishful thinking on a day when 1 million viewers had already watched a rugby match. Many of the viewers at home probably had their fill of TV for the day, while the pub audience would have moved on to a higher state of enlightenment by half past eight.
RTÉ also tell me that 88,000 watched Gerry Adams’ speech at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis the previous Saturday (10.9% of the audience). I reckon it’s time Sinn Féin move to the 8.30-9pm slot – not many are able for the 50 minute-long political speech these days.
Cowen’s audience was well above the 263,000 (16.6%) who watched Kenny’s speech in November (though that was a Fine Gael ‘national conference’ and not a fully-fledged Ard Fheis), and also way past the 246,000 (14.6%) who watched Gilmore’s address to the Labour faithful at a ’special delegate conference’ later that month.
The FF slump continues. Labour on the rise. In tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post:
FG 30% (-3)
FF 23% (-5)
LAB 22% (+8)
GRN 6% (-2)
SF 11% (+2)
Ind 8%
Via Irish Election
Yellow Roman Candles contributor JP O’Malley recently met with former Dublin West TD Joe Higgins to discuss Irish politics post-Lisbon and, hopefully, pre-the entry of Higgins onto the European political stage.
Photo: The Labour Party.
“Well? Are you inspired?” somebody asked me just after Enda Kenny’s speech in Wexford. The tone was sarcastic but the questioner had seen quite a few of these jamborees and who was I to question his cynicism. It was my first party conference but I’ve seen plenty of leaders’ speeches on television over the years to know that these are not inspirational moments. I thought Kenny’s speech was reasonably well delivered but, in terms of content, was lacking anything approaching new or refreshing. He aimed to be stern, yet reassuring and I think he hit his mark.
The Wexford experience coloured my approach to Eamon Gilmore’s speech in Kilkenny last weekend. I was unable to attend the Labour Party’s ’special delegate conference’ but sitting at home you could see that this speech had more fire and less pragmatism than Kenny’s offering. Inspired is far too strong a word to use here but it’s fair to say I was impressed. Read the rest of this entry »
