Thursday, October 4, 2007

"Who is this Big Prick?"..Not a Question You'd Ever Need Ask Willie O'Dea.

"Who is this Big Prick?",this was the genteel interogative allegedly directed by our states Minister of Defence,Fianna Fail's Willie O'Dea, when asked by a pair of aggrieved Shannon airport workers why, he, an elected TD for Limerick had failed to contribute to the Dáil debate on the Airports future.The newly privatised Aer Lingus decision to axe its route to London Heathrow, and shift this connection to Belfast, with staff on lower wages, has created a huge amount of anger in the Shannon Region. The regions Airport workers and also the business community have reacted with dismay and astonishment to a decision which makes connectivity between Shannon and the vital business hub of Heathrow a thing of the past, despite the fact that the route was making a substantial profit.This decision,it is feared, may cost thousands of jobs in the Mid-West region.
John Fahey, chief executive of the Meet Limerick/Shannon conferencing promotion group, and Geraldine Morrissey, spokeswoman for Aer Lingus workers at the airport,would like an apology from the Minister over the remarks they say he made to them in a Pub in Limerick last Saturday night.The row happened after Mr O’Dea called to South’s pub in Limerick last Saturday night with Tánaiste Brian Cowen. Mr Fahey,a prominent hotelier in the mid-west, was there with his wife and Ms Morrissey.
“Mr O’Dea was there with the Tánaiste,” said Mr Fahey. “Then they both left together. As they did, a number of people said, ‘What about Shannon, what about Shannon?’” A short time later, Mr O’Dea returned.Mr Fahey said when Mr O’Dea approached their group,Ms Morrissey challenged him over not being present in the Dáil for a vote on the Shannon issue.“She asked him why he did not take part in the Dáil debate,”. Willie supposedly responded by saying that he was the Minister for Defence and Mr Fahey, who sounded like a most credible witness whilst speaking on Today FM's"The Last Word" said, ‘Well you did not defend the interests of the West of Ireland very well’. At this comment Willie O'Dea, who is somewhat vertically challenged, apparently turned around and said, ‘Who is this big prick?’, bizarrely informing the 6 foot John Fahey that "I would like to hit you". To which John Fahey replied "if you were a little bigger I might let you", a neat riposte if ever there was one. Apparently the Minister, according to Fahey, then turned to Geraldine Morrissey and informed her,(no doubt concerned to put her mind at ease on the matter), ‘I don’t give a fuck about you’.I really don't think that this is what Mandelson and Blair had in mind when they talked about the need for politicians to get into a 'conversation' with the electorate.
Interestingly this particular 'conversation' ocurred in South's bar in Limerick City. Is it possible that anything connected with that most Limerick of surnames, (Sabhat in Irish), South, is destined to get Willie O'Dea into difficulties? Is there a 'South' hoo-doo haunting Willie??
I recall back in the end of 2006 he landed himself in another embarrassing mess over pulling out abruptly from a promotional event for a book commemorating the life of legendary 1950's Limerick IRA volunteer Sean South..(er..yes of Garryowen). The Minister, who is also from Limerick, withdrew from the event claiming he did not realise who the book was about when he agreed to do the launch. The biography by Des Fogerty is entitled 'Sean South of Garryowen....Mr O’Dea rejected claims by the family that he came under pressure from his own officials to pull out of the event.Sean South, whose death inspired a famous rebel ballad, was shot dead along with another IRA man, Fergal O’Hanlon, during an attack on the RUC barracks in Brookeborough, in January 1957.Mr O’Dea said: “I thought the book I was to launch was about somebody else.”However, Owen South, a well-known photographer and nephew of Sean South, challenged Willie's version of events.“The publisher got a call from the Department of Defence saying the Minister would not be attending the launch at Peter Clohessy’s bar next Saturday night,” he said.“It was the department and not the Minister who contacted us to say he would not be turning up. For the Minister to say he did not know at the outset who the book was about is rubbish. He knew all along the book was about Sean South. Obviously there was pressure from his own department or somewhere not to turn up.”Mr O’Dea said that when he accepted the invitation to launch the book, he did not realise it was about Sean South.“I did not realise it was about Sean South until the other day and I did not think it would be appropriate for the Minister for Defence to launch a book about Sean South...It was my own decision. To be honest I assumed the book was about somebody else as I did a book launch some time ago about the city fishermen"(what that is a reference to is beyond me). “I only realised the book was on Sean South when my diary was being checked and somebody got in touch with my office. I don’t think it appropriate for me to be launching a book on Sean South.
Willie O'Dea is the Minister of Defence in Bertie Ahern's Cabinet, the same Taoiseach who would have us believe he is having difficulties 'recalling' the provenance of the odd thirty grand in sterling, in his recent evidence about his finances at the Mahon Tribunal hearings.Is'nt it clear now, clearer perhaps than ever it has been, that these people who govern this nation, are,in the immortal words of East Ender's Phil Mitchell,simply 'Aving a laugh' ?

9 comments:

Leftwing Criminologist said...

I still regret that we couldn't get Joe Higgins re-elected into the dail, he would have had a field day with this guy.

do you know if the unions at the airport are organising against this decision by aer lingus?

Gabriel said...

They most certainly are, and with the pay freeze and the ultimatum that pilots failing to cooperate with training recruits for the Belfast route, it looks like it could get very nasty indeed.

Anonymous said...

generic viagra online free sample pack of viagra viagra prices cheap viagra nz effect of viagra on women bought viagra fuerteventura viagra strips viagra samples viagra generique viagra lawyer ohio free viagra without prescription viagra rrp australia cost free viagra in the uk super viagra pro

Anonymous said...

[url=http://forums.bleachexile.com/member.php?u=57438]digital camera uk [/url] and
[url=http://forums.bleachexile.com/member.php?u=57532]chronic pain
knee pain
arthritis pain
chest pain
leg pain
[/url]

[url=http://kinopoisk.sms-jet.ru/sitemap.html]скачать фильмы[/url] скачать фильмы

cannon digital camera and
back pain relief
knee pain
muscle relaxer
arthritis pain
back pain

Anonymous said...

[url=http://satrise.ru/familiya/sitemap_0.html]происхождение фамилии[/url]
а также
[url=http://satrise.ru/]происхождение фамилии[/url]
а также
[url=http://znacheniie.ru/]значение фамилии[/url]
а также
[url=http://znacheniie.ru/sitemap_0.html]происхождение фамилии[/url]
мои сайты для вас
значение фамилии
а также
происхождение фамилии
а также
значение фамилии
а также
происхождение фамилии
а также
Посмотреть фильм онлайн бесплатно
[url=http://nasharussia3.rv.ua/]смотреть онлайн Наша раша Яйца судьбы [/url]
скачать фильм Наша раша Яйца судьбы
Посмотреть фильм онлайн бесплатно
Карта сайта Смотреть фильм мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо фильм кино. Смотреть трейлер к фильму мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо онлайн фильм 2010 года. Мне бы в небо avatar 2010 онлайн. Смотреть онлай фильм мне бы в небо. Худ фильм мне бы в небо. Посмотреть онлайн фильм мне бы в небо. Скачать торрент мне бы в небо 2010. Фильм мне бы в небо трейлер скачать. Смотреть онлайн полный фильм мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо легенда об анге фильм. Фильм по аниме мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо фильм русский трейлер. Мне бы в небо фильм актеры. Скачать мне бы в небо avatar 2010. Мне бы в небо 2010 torrent. Посмотреть фильм онлайн мне бы в небо 2010. Прокат фильма мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо avatar фильм. Мне бы в небо фильм дата. Музыка из трейлера фильма мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо 2010 dvdrip. Мне бы в небо avatar 2010 трейлер. Просмотр онлайн фильма мне бы в небо. Фильм мне бы в небо сюжет. Мне бы в небо джеймса кэмерона avatar 2010. Фильм мне бы в небо по мотивам. Фильм мне бы в небо смотреть бесплатно online. Мне бы в небо фильм трейлер онлайн. Сценарий фильма мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небоы из фильма пила. Фильм мне бы в небо онлайн бесплатно. Найти фильм мне бы в небо пожалуйста. Скачать фильм мне бы в небо dvdrip. Постеры к фильму мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо фильм рецензия. Мне бы в небо аанг фильм. Мне бы в небо мульт фильм. Мне бы в небо 2010 dvdrip скачать. Скачать мне бы в небо 2010 dvdrip бесплатно. Просмотреть мне бы в небо фильм онлайн бесплатно. Мне бы в небо 2010 скачать. Фильм мне бы в небо продолжительность. Мне бы в небо повелитель стихий фильм. Полный сюжет фильма мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо 2010 скачать бесплатно. Мне бы в небо ролик фильм. Скачать фильм без регистрации мне бы в небо. Мне бы в небо фильм скачать бесплатно торрент. а также смотрите кинопремьера скоро
[url=http://nasharushakino.rv.ua/]смотреть онлайн Наша раша Яйца судьбы[/url]
скачать фильм Наша раша Яйца судьбы
Посмотреть фильм онлайн бесплатно вместе с семьей
Samsung lcd

Anonymous said...

http://markonzo.edu turcinovic http://aviary.com/artists/protonix http://www.fiql.com/blogs/Nifedipine mccoubrey mahoning http://profiles.friendster.com/crestore#moreabout http://www.projectopus.com/user/53177 andd pots http://aviary.com/artists/Zanaflex http://riderx.info/members/cardizem-side-effects.aspx

Anonymous said...

airline comparability
cheap hotels near disney world
tight caravanserai rates
mas booking
macau pension deals
republique hotel
sexy booking
harvard accommodation
motor hotel booking usa
best hotel prices online
cheap divorce
beginning elegance fares
boeing 757 200 position map
hotel prices in france
blue booking
frigg frugality class
upright quarter cheap bawdy-house
stay hotel
hotel la quinta inn
airline guide
profit booking
cheap dubai hotels
even tawdry
bed and breakfast discounts
coles bay grant-in-aid

Anonymous said...

Рассылка рекламы на 4875 осок ли на 45000 закрытых форумов и о ваших предложениях мгновенно узнают тысячи покупателей. Рассылка будет сделана в течении 25 минут после обращения. Предоставляем визуальный отчет в режиме реального времени. Цена за рассылку на доски всего 240 рублей. Наш тел. 89266853242 ICQ 568113539 rutop10@mail точка ru PS. Заключаем договора на раскрутку и вывод в ТОП сайтов.

Anonymous said...

Рассылка рекламы на 4700 досок или на 47000 форумов и о ваших сайтах мгновенно узнают десятки тысяч покупателей. Рассылка будет сделана в течении 20 минут после обращения. Предоставляем визуальный отчет в режиме реального времени. Стоимость за рассылку на доски всего 210 рубей. Наш тел. 89266853242 ICQ 568113539 rutop10@mail точка ru PS. Заключаем договора на раскрутку и вывод в ТОП сайтов.