Bog off!
That was the message the Greens got loud and clear from turfmen of the IRA (Irish Rural Association) over the weekend. The small crowd of 20 to 30 protestors certainly made their presence felt when they picketed outside the Green party’s annual conference at the Radisson hotel in Athlone on Saturday. Eamon Ryan and the delegates were reminded by the IRA that ‘they haven’t gone away you know’ and that the angry turf cutters are still raging over the perceived attack on their turbary rights. Turf selling has been seriously curtailed by this government, with the Greens driving the fight against the fossil fuel. A compromise of sorts was reached where you can still sell your turf to family and friends, but even this has not gone down well in rural Ireland and the Greens are getting the full whack of the blame.
There were a couple of rowdy ones in it, sure you wouldn’t be a decent protest group without a bit of an edge. But the roughest they got was when an IRA man threw a sod of turf at a cameraman sitting in his OB (Outside Broadcast) van. Another angry man was shouting at delegates walking in saying “ye’re more right wing than Fine Gael,” - not sure who would be more insulted by that charge, Fine Gael or the Greens. And then there was the woman with the obligatory megaphone. She was asking Eamon Ryan if he had cycled down from Dublin? I’m guessing the answer was no, it was rotten weather at the weekend. What the two protesters did remind me of is why the Greens have earned the nickname in some circles of being ‘Blueshirts on bikes.’ But it was Eamon who was the main target of their anger with the organisations’ official spokesman, Jackie Flannery, taking aim before firing this missive: “we do not have faith and trust in Minister Ryan or the government that are propping up his mad cap ideas. We accept fully that we have to meet certain criteria for Climate but not in a way that it is shoved down our throats, not in a way that it costs people of the land who know and work with nature best each and every day.”
Finally, a word about the food at the conference, it was vegan city for the weekend. This newshound was pleasantly surprised when he sniffed out the elevensies that came out on Saturday morning - they were gorgeous. Soft, yet crunchy, carrot cake, warm brown croissants with jam fillings and some little chocolate vegan sweets - don’t really know what flavours they were, but they were a delight. Then at lunchtime, the hungry hacks were treated to platters of sandwiches, very colourful they were, but not a sign of any ham or chicken in between the gluten free bread slices, they were all vegan fillings. What harm, the beetroot sandwich was alright, but we were starting to get more than a little peckish. Hanger was setting in. At last came the news that there was going to be a gala dinner that night, we’d finally be fed and watered with a bit of meat and two veg. Then the rumour started going around that it would be a vegan banquet. That was a step too far for this carnivore, couldn’t be taking a chance, I hit the streets and found myself devouring a lovely beef stir fry in an Asian restaurant on nearby Church Street, my prayers answered.
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Paschal Donohoe, a man of many talents, and interests. Most of us were well aware of his massive interest in music, never be surprised if you see him boogying away beside you in Whelans or the 3 Arena. And then there’s his voracious appetite for books, he’s an avid reader, so much so that he almost has a bit of a side gig writing book reviews for the Irish Times at this stage he pops up there so much. But he presented another new side to his personality last week when he revealed his love for that most nerdy of games, Dungeons and Dragons. Our hip Finance Minister was at the launch of a new tax credit for the computer gaming industry down in the trendy Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin’s Liberties. The ever-smiling Paschal was completely at home with the geeky computer programmers as he revealed that he, like a lot of them we think he was correctly guessing, was a big fan of the fantasy roleplay phenomenon when he was a youngster. Necromancer Donohoe has a nice ring to it alright.
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There are so many leaks in the Dáil now that there are buckets regularly placed in strategic spots to catch them. For once we are not talking about the leakers of the human kind. I’d never write in this column complaining about them, sure aren’t they the lifeblood that provide decent political correspondents with many of their daily yarns. We love that drip-drip of information. No, this time the leaks are coming from the sky and the raindrops keep falling on the heads of politicians. The reason we are highlighting the issue here is not because we’re worried about the poor politicians getting a little bit of a wet head. No, it’s simply because the taxpayer was caught on the hook recently for millions of euro to refurbish Leinster House. In 2019 the final bill came in for the massive restoration project, and when the final bills were settled we had handed over €17million, twice the original estimate.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Just think about it - when the Green Party joined government in 2020, the country was powered by gas on those warm, summer days. By the time we finish in office, we will be powered by the sun.” Promises of a bright future on the energy front from Green party leader Eamon Ryan at his party conference over the weekend.
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