Ferghal Blaney Down the Dail
Paul Mescal and Leo Varadkar Gael force
You don’t expect to see Leo Varadkar and Paul Mescal in the same sentence.
But Ireland is a small place and politics is a funny game so it transpires the budding Hollywood superstar and the established rockstar politician have something in common - mastering the Irish language.
Oscar nominee Mescal, 27, is destined for great things - just like 44-year-old Leo was as a young maverick TD in the late 2000s.
The Maynooth man - who shot to fame in the hit series Normal People - was one of the hottest guests to sit on the Late Late Show couch in recent times when he was the star turn last Friday.
Host Ryan Tubridy gave him a good natured ribbing about his effort at Irish on the BAFTA red carpet.
Mescal can hardly go anywhere without a mic being shoved in his face, so he's probably used to that.
But what he couldn't have expected was for the mic-holder to be asking him a question ‘as gaeilge,’. He was put on the spot to be an instant ambassador for the Irish language.
He gave it his best shot with a cupla focail about being very proud of the film.
He even apologised ‘as gaeilge’ saying his Irish was much better when he was in an all-Irish primary school.
HIs efforts went viral and a Twitter video was viewed more than a million times.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/showbiz/irish-showbiz/paul-mescal-saying-name-wrong-29321101
But it was a move that was commended around the world. The New York Times described it as “quite a moment” for an actor who had been wrongly identified as British by the BBC just a few weeks before.
The Taoiseach may have empathised with Mescal - and also believes in the importance of giving it a go when it comes to languages.
He did an Irish language course a few years ago, and hisb Irish name is "Leo de Varad."
He has said of learning: "My philosophy towards Irish is just to speak it. Speak Irish! It's not about getting it perfect. It's about making an effort."
He had his own Mescal moment on a sunny Tuesday afternoon outside Government Buildings last week.
He was there ostensibly to talk, in English, about the latest cost of living giveaways, but when the Q&A came around he was thrown a question in Irish.
Leo could have easily passed the buck to the fluent gaelgoir Micheál Martin who was standing right beside him, but instead he had a stab at answering it in Irish and, like Paul Mescal, he was grand.
The fact that he was able to answer a question on the hoof and not just read a prepared answer from a script means he has come a long way from an event in a Galway hotel a number of years ago.
On this occasion, Leo had to be coached by the TG4 reporter on the day and he just about managed to repeat back what he was told on camera.
Credit where credit is due, they both gave it a go, fair play to the two of them.
Maith thu.
Rookie politician of 15 years
How long can you keep playing the ‘rookie’ card when you make a mistake in the Dáil?
Well, the answer must be 15 and a bit years if you’re Fine Gael TD and junior minister Kieran O’Donnell.
That’s because the veteran minister, TD, Senator and former councillor, first elected to the Dáil in 2007, called for clemency from the Ceann Comhairle last week when he fecked up and forgot to oppose an opposition Bill in the Dáil.
Kieran was left red-faced when Ceann Sean Ó Fearghaill refused to let him back in, so he begged him to let him have another go, claiming as he was “a rookie” he should be given another shot.
The Dáil’s chief was having none of it and he basically sent the newly-appointed planning minister back with his tail between his legs to his Government colleagues.
This allowed the People Before Profit Bill calling for the eviction ban to be extended to pass to the next legislative phase.
Don’t worry if you’re a landlord looking to kick people out though, the Government will just nobble the Bill at a later stage instead.
Social Democrats end of an era
Holly Cairns is the new face of the posh left Social Democrats.
The Cork South West TD will take over the party after all other colleagues ruled themselves out of the race.
She has two pairs of big boots to fill in the form of former leaders Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall.
The Soc Dems is one of the newest parties or political groupings in the Dáil, but ironically it has had two of the longest-serving leaders of any party.
Trailblazers Murphy and Shortall, two Labour stalwarts back in the day, have been co-leaders of the party since its inception eight years ago.
The idea of a joint leadership looked a bit like a lefty gimmick when they announced it, but in fairness to them it has served the party well and has seen it grow on their watch.
They were ahead of their time as the “rotating Taoiseach” agreement between Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin followed years later.
The Soc Dems now boast six TDs and this can be attributed to the leadership of the two steely, yet dynamic politicians.
The party is entering its next phase now with Cairns, who follows in the footsteps of two political giants.
ENDS
