THURSDAY/FRIDAY
The leaving of Leo…
If Leo Varadkar was expecting to receive gracious tributes from political opponents following his shock resignation announcement, he was in for a rude awakening. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Labour leader Ivana Bacik and Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns had no intention of putting their swords down.
In a break with long-standing tradition on such occasions, the outgoing Taoiseach’s adversaries of the day declined to pay the customary generous tributes to a departing leader. This rather petty approach didn’t cost many of the angry X/Twitter brigade a second thought; but for many of us, it was an ungracious, ill-judged response by Varadkar’s opponents. It was the same story from Michelle O’Neill, the new Northern Ireland First Minister.
This has nothing to do with the political record of the retiring Taoiseach; it has always been seen as common decency to acknowledge the achievements of the person who is on the way out, and indeed to speak warmly of them on a human level.
We appear to have come some distance from the day former Fine Gael Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave said of Charlie Haughey, on the latter’s retirement: “He did more than his critics did”.
SATURDAY
All about the grassroots…
This afternoon, in an act of extraordinary (and misguided) optimism, I took the lawnmower from its slumber in the shed. Naturally, it wouldn’t start. So then I went to the car and got the jump leads out.
When I sat into the car and turned on the ignition, Minister Neale Richmond and Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett were going on and on about the state of the country (they weren’t passengers in my car; they were on the radio).
Anyways, the jump leads got the lawnmower started; happily, it drowned out Minister Richmond and Deputy Boyd Barrett (nothing personal, but 72 hours of political blah blah is more than enough).
Suitably motivated, I began to cut the grass, which was silly of me, as it wasn’t dry enough, meaning the mission had to be abandoned. I returned the lawnmower to the back of the house and returned the car to the front of the house.
The grass was still much too long – and Minister Richmond and Deputy Boyd Barrett were still bickering.
SUNDAY
Ring-o Star!
It isn’t just Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and fellow rockers who are still going strong/touring with their greatest hits. Michael ‘The Boss’ Ring hasn’t gone away, you know: he was in fine form on RTE Radio 1’s ‘This Week’ programme today.
Addressing a perceived rural/urban and liberal/conservative divide within Fine Gael, Ring called on new leader Simon Harris to lead his party back to “core values”. Unimpressed with the prioritising of social issues, Deputy Ring said Fine Gael is “too left, too long”, before memorably adding that the party had rescued the economy at a time when “the Troika was running the country from the Shelbourne Hotel”.
Deputy Ring, all whimsy aside, is an excellent constituency TD who always tends to have his finger on the pulse of rural Ireland.
*The ‘lesser spotted’ Fianna Fáil veteran Willie O’Dea is also on a ‘Greatest hits’ tour, most recently appearing live on Virgin Media’s Tonight Show.
MONDAY
In praise of Pryor
Despite all the streaming options, I still enjoy some of the ‘old stuff’ which is regularly repeated on what we might call the ‘quirky’ channels. TV channels like Gold, Dave, Comedy Central, Sky Arts and BBC 4 offer up many gems. I’m unashamedly nostalgic for some of the TV of the 1970s and ‘80s (and other eras)… even the shows that are by now very dated can be enjoyable to watch again.
Comedies like Yes Minister, Only Fools and Horses, and even Last of the Summer Wine are all worth a watch from time to time. I’ve always enjoyed Tales of the Unexpected; Alfred Hitchcock Presents, while very dated, can be entertaining.
Recently, I’ve been watching live recordings of the great American comedian (and actor) Richard Pryor. Many readers probably discovered him in movies, along with the great Gene Wilder. When I first saw Pryor starring in films such as Stir Crazy and See No Evil, Hear No Evil, I had no idea that he was a stand-up superstar. He is often spoken of now as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
These shows (regularly repeated on Comedy Central) showcase how brilliant he was. “The Picasso of our profession” the writer and comedian Jerry Seinfeld said of Pryor, who died in 2005. An intelligent and original performer, he was a naturally funny man.
TUESDAY
Willie Collins (RIP)
After almost 900 editions of the Roscommon People, this week’s is the first one ever to hit the shops without the keen eye of Willie Collins following its fortunes.
Even on the very rare occasions that Willie might have been away, he would have been anxious to be reassured that deliveries of the paper had gone smoothly in his absence. In reality, Willie was on top of everything week after week, month after month, year after year. Conscientious and ever-obliging, he was a pleasure to work with. He loved his work, and was in his element meeting people.
Willie, his son Ian and family, have been distributing the Roscommon People ever since the newspaper was founded back in 2007.
We were deeply saddened to hear of Willie’s passing today, following a period of illness. I first got to know him over 30 years ago, when we played indoor soccer together. Later, when Willie began working for the People, he became a valued friend.
Rarely, if ever, have I encountered anyone as committed to and dutiful about their work as Willie was. He was extremely popular with everyone he dealt with in the towns and villages of County Roscommon on his deliveries. I know that Willie was a valued member of staff at the Sacred Heart Hospital for many years.
A true gentleman, he will be greatly missed throughout the county. We will certainly miss his smile, friendliness and obliging nature on his regular visits to our office.
Deepest sympathy to Willie’s wife Bernadette, daughter Claudette, son Ian, grandsons Evan and Alan, son-in-law Eamon, Ian’s partner Emma, sister Kathleen, extended family and friends. Rest in peace, Willie.
