A Dublin City Councillor has called on Green Party leader Eamon Ryan to give his opinion on the controversy surrounding Dublin’s live crib.
Fine Gael’s Cllr James Geoghegan also criticised Green Party Cllr Claire Byrne over a tweet suggesting that his party and Fianna Fáil would put “dancing monkeys” and a “real baby” in the crib. The crib, which has been a Christmas staple outside the Mansion House on Dublin’s Dawson Street since the 1990s, has been cancelled by Green party Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy.
The move has been lambasted by Fine Gael, as well as the Irish Farmers Association (IFA). Former President Mary McAleese also called on Ms Conroy to row back on the decision.
Read more: Mansion House live Christmas crib cancelled as Dublin City Council bans farm animals
The Lord Mayor’s Green Party colleague, Cllr Claire Byrne, shared an email from the “National Animal Rights Association” on Twitter. The group welcomed the decision, saying that the animals are “put in an enclosure and forced to endure noise, lights and the endless gaze of people”.
“Exactly this,” Ms Byrne said, “I fully support [Ms Conroy] in her decision. Next year will be a @fiannafailparty Mayor and they can bring back dancing monkeys and put a real baby in the live crib or whatever they and @FineGael think defines Christmas.”
Ms Byrne, who ran in last year’s by-election in Dublin Bay South, has worked with Green Party leader Eamon Ryan for a number of years. Cllr Geoghan told The Irish Mirror that Cllr Byrne’s tweet was “churlish”.
“I don't know if she meant it but I think it was pretty disrespectful to the whole situation,” the Fine Gael Cllr said. “For a lot of people, the live crib is something that lots of families enjoy every year and to be making jibes about live monkeys and live babies and effectively just ignoring what seems to be the weight of public opinion that this crib should happen.
“For them to be digging their heels in like this... What's strange about Claire's tweet is that she cites animal welfare as the reason for not having the live animals. But the Lord Mayor herself never mentioned animal welfare.
“I think the Green Party just need to stand back from their dogma and listen to what the public opinion is on this.” Mr Geoghegan said that the argument has been linked to the Green Party and Minister Ryan should “express a view”.
He added: “We have heard other national politicians making their views known. We need to know what’s lurking behind this. Is this a decision that has come [from] on high relating to animal welfare? If so, who is doing the lobbying behind the scenes?”
Cllr Geoghegan said that a motion will be brought to next Monday’s Dublin City Council meeting calling for the cancellation of the live crib to be reversed. A spokesperson for Minister Ryan told The Irish Mirror that it was a “council matter” and did not provide a comment. The crib and the Mansion House are both in Mr Ryan’s Dublin Bay South constituency.
Cllr Byrne was not available for comment.
Tim Cullinane, President of the IFA, told RTÉ’s Drivetime on Monday evening that he had requested a meeting with Lord Mayor Conroy but has yet to receive a response. “I have been taken aback by the response to this and the number of people who have offered alternatives,” he said.
“This arrangement has been in place with the First Citizen of Dublin City for 27 years. I would like if the Lord Mayor would sit down with ourselves and explain why she has taken this decision on something that has been working for a very long time.”
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