Dana for President?

DANA, the winner of the Eurovision contest in 1970 and more latterly a member of the European Parliament, was in New York this week, sparking speculation that she may be thinking of running for president of the Irish Republic this November.

Incumbent Mary McAleese is incredibly popular, though, and it now seems certain that neither Fine Gael or the Labor Party will attempt to take her on if, as seems inevitable, she runs again. 

Fine Gael threw in the towel some months ago, but Labor Party chairman Michael D. Higgins had been considered a possible runner. Now, however, it seems unlikely that he will challenge. 

McAleese is just completing her first seven year term and she seems to have few political options other than another run at the presidency, which is a largely ceremonial post in Ireland.

Dana, however, who just missed a European seat in this election, may have other ideas. She is a solid right wing conservative who makes family values the center of every campaign she runs in. 

She may have a clear field to run against McAleese, which would make for an interesting race. However, McAleese, who registers in the high 80s in popularity terms, would start an overwhelming favorite. Dana was one of the losing contestants in the last Irish presidential election.

Dana would certainly be a controversial president. Her views are considered very right wing by many in Ireland, and she would certainly cause headlines. She may be hoping that at the last minute McAleese decides not to run, in which case Dana would be the early favorite to succeed her.

Cruise O’Brien Rejoins Labor

LIKE Banquo’s ghost, Conor Cruise O’Brien has once again resurfaced in Irish politics, yet again undergoing another conversion.

O’Brien has rejoined the Irish Labor Party, a move back to the party that once made him a government minister and one of the most controversial figures of his era because of his obsessed pursuit of anything vaguely nationalistic in Ireland. 

Recently deceased Irish Times columnist Mary Holland was just one of his targets. O’Brien had her fired when he was editor of the Observer newspaper because of her reporting from the North.

O’Brien was most recently a member of the United Kingdom Independence Party, an extreme Unionist grouping led by Bob McCartney. O’Brien had found David Trimble’s form of Unionism much too mild and preferred the McCartney model.

He was welcomed back with open arms by Pat Rabbitte, the leader of the Labor Party who in another political guise was formerly a senior figure in a party which had close ties to O’Brien, and agreed vehemently with his anti-Republican line.

O’Brien wrote that he was delighted with his new (old) home, and that the party leader shared his hatred of the IRA and all things Republican. Not surprising really, when you consider that Sinn Fein are shaping up as the major rival for the Labor Party in the Irish Republic.

Remembering Mary Holland

SPEAKING of Mary Holland, a belated and genuine expression of regret at the passing of one of Ireland’s greatest journalists is in order.

Mary was a fearless writer on the North, latterly in The Irish Times, and despite the atmosphere of the time was unflinching in her pursuit of the truth, whether that reflected well or badly on the powers that be.

She was a frequent visitor to the U.S. and wrote several brilliant articles on the Irish undocumented here. A charming and sociable person, she was one of the finest journalists to pick up a pen in the past half century.

Irish Embassy’s Fury

THE Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C. is said to be furious at RTE reporter Carole Coleman because of the way she conducted her interview with President George W. Bush prior to his going to Ireland.

RTE is Ireland’s national radio and television station, and securing the 10-minute interview was quite a coup for the station. It appears that the Irish Embassy played a major role in securing the exclusive, and that the Bush people were expecting a relatively easy time in the interview.

Coleman, however, went for the jugular, interrupting Bush on several occasions and refusing to let him finish his statements. An angry Bush is caught on camera asking time and again to be allowed to finish his thoughts.

Ambush journalism is nothing new, but coming in that setting was a huge surprise to the White House. Word has it that it was not long before the White House complained directly to the Irish Embassy. Nothing, of course, was done, and Coleman found herself splashed all over the world media with tapes of her confrontation with Bush appearing everywhere.

Blow it Badly Like Beckham

IF you don’t get this joke, we understand. It refers to an unidentified flying object appearing over Dromoland Castle during the Bush visit. 

Concerned Secret Service scrambled a plane to take a look. When they got up there they discovered it was the missed penalty kick ball that David Beckham had shot wide against Portugal.

Okay, for those who have no idea what this item is about. The England star Beckham took a critical penalty against Portugal in the European Cup quarterfinals and missed the net high and right by a good twenty yards. And England lost. Some reported the ball was still traveling hours later. 

Anyway, this item officially gives “Intelligencer” its first (and probably last) opportunity to run a picture of Becks for all his female fans. And yes, it is a slow week.