Last Wednesday, May 9th, I took part in RTE’s first ever web-exclusive debate. Minister Noel Dempsey, Bernard Durkan T.D. of Fine Gael and the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan T.D., who are all their party’s Spokespersons on Communications, joined me in the live online discussion.
The general election campaign for the 30th Dail is now a week old. It has been a very busy week in terms of getting posters up, canvassing and keeping up with the ongoing regular work of a public representative.
A few weeks ago RTE’s 9’o clock news featured a long report about the pending closure of Greendale Community School in Foxfield St. John Parish Kilbarrack, Dublin 5. The coverage highlighted the farewell reunion of the 3,000 or so students who had passed through the school in the past 30 years.
Last Sunday, March 4th was a very sad and traumatic day for the Labour Party in Dublin North East. Our constituency office secretary Ms. Lucy Wilson died suddenly at her home in Seagrange, Baldoyle.
On Wednesday morning I was a guest on the panel of RTE’s Leaders’ Questions programme which reviews the performance of the Taoiseach and Opposition Leaders in Dail Eireann that morning. In many ways it is like being a soccer commentator – with Bryan Dobson in the Bill O’Herlihy role and myself Shane Coleman and David Davin Power in the Giles, Dunphy and Brady roles.
Budget ’07 was the political highlight of this week. Since much of Brian Cowan’s presentation had already appeared in the Sunday papers, the occasion was curiously dull and flat.
This week I attended functions marking important occasions for three great Irishmen. On Monday last, there was a reception and dinner at the Darndale Hilton Hotel to mark the retirement of Padraic White from the chairpersonship of the Northside Partnership.
