O Neachtain resignation

Sean O Neachtain's resignation has come, it appears, as a mighty shock to most of Fianna Fáil, and it's the last thing the party needs with Declan Ganley heavy breathing down its neck in the North West.

Although fears that Ganley will mop up a Galway vote abound, personally I don't think it's likely. All the digging I've done on the guy has come up with one conclusion; he rubs everyone up the wrong way. A former employee took him to the Labour Court and won - but is afraid to go public for fear of the consequences. A former schoolmate I spoke to was always somewhat wary of his lust for power. And most of the Galway business community, not just the lefties, people who would have been serious PD supporters, are certainly not Ganley voters.

The man has his supporters, but most of them are not in Galway. We heard a lot about the looney left in the run up to Lisbon I but it's the looney right you need to worry about in the more rural parts of the North West.

However, that's not to say Fianna Fáil will retain O'Neachtain's seat. In earlier predictions I anticipated that O Neachtain's seat was safe but unfortunately now we will never know. With him gone, it's hard to see who will fill the gap. Theories that he is being shafted to make way for a junior minister who's lost his job are floating around. But these are not likely for a number of reasons. Sligo's Jimmy Devins is unlikely to fit the MEP bill, as he is too close to Mooney geographically and there would be no sweeper in the south end of the constituency to sort out Clare, Galway and Mayo.

Galway East minister Michael Kitt is unlikely to fit the bill either as he is far too quiet - the main reason he's likely to be dropped is his lack of media profile. In his last junior ministry, Irish Aid, he had ample opportunity to display his largesse (this was before the budget cuts) but failed to do so. Another member of the Kitt dynasty falls short of cabinet... maybe Aine will have a better chance...

FF can't afford to drop a TD now, despite rumour that Noel Treacy (who previously ran and failed) reportedly being interested. Reports in today's Irish Indo name Eamon O Cuiv's son (who lives in London), Padraig O Ceidigh of Aer Arann, while Galway councillor Mike Crowe has also expressed an interest.

Sounds like the party is frantically scrambling behind the scenes to find a replacement, but it's hard to know who would sweep up the votes as Fianna Fáil would require - O Ceidigh would be the perfect choice but is unlikely to relinquish a successful business career in favour of an expensive election campaign and exile to Brussels... time will tell...?

Finally! The media goes for Libertas

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0520/eulisbon.html

Finally, finally, finally, somebody is sitting up and taking notice. To be fair to the IT's Colm Keena, he was the first national journalist to do so, in today's edition (sub needed).

There have been mutterings of this for months. The Galway business community are up in arms at 'one of their own' (Ganley) departing from party line (IBEC, Galway Chamber, most recently the Irish Alliance for Europe Western branch) in such a drastic way.

Dr Chris Coughlan, incoming President of Chambers Ireland, is a founding member of Libertas, along with Dr Roger Downer (former University of Limerick President), Eamonn Cregan (Downer's right-hand man in UL), and a host of Ganley employees... who work for his military communications company, Rivada Networks. The majority of Rivada contracts are with the US military. Ulick McEvaddy is another big Libertas-head.

So where is the connection?
Downer - best remembered in UL for his wonderful fundraising techniques... in the US.
Ganley - gets all his business (multi million, at the very least) from the US military.
McEvaddy - does all his business with the US military.
Other founders - work for Ganley.

What a cuddly organisation. Add to that the noxious John McGuirk and the neo-conservative politico David Cochrane, and you really have something special.

To be fair to another person I usually don't have much time for, Lucinda Creighton seems to have press released about this ages ago. But where was the pick-up?

The possibility of any involvement by the US military in an Irish referendum brings, to me at least, a shiver down my spine. This is like something from a Tom Clancy novel. And we should be, not just pooh-poohing, but really really worried about it.

The world's biggest 'defender of democracy' is trying to interfere in a democratic decision of the Irish people. And Libertas claim to be worried about our sovereignty!

The Lisbon Treaty

In my line of work I come across a lot of press releases.

But I have never in all my days come across so many bloody pointless tit-for-tat press releases on anything as for this bloody Treaty. Do I come across angry? Because if not, you're reading me wrong.

I have had at least ten press releases this morning alone from Libertas. For GOD'S SAKE! You're not helping yourselves, people.

Problems with Libertas:
1) John McGuirk
2) John McGuirk
3) John McGuirk
4) Pointless, personalised attacks in press releases.
5) Over-press releasing. Keep bombarding us with them and we won't use any. Guaranteed.
6) Where is the money coming from?
7) Why does Ganley care so much?
8) General shadiness.
9) John McGuirk
10) John McGuirk.

As noted on politics.ie, anyone who knows anything about politics in Ireland knows McGuirk is an arrogant p**** with no agenda but his own self-promotion. Libertas has provided him with the ideal vehicle for this. He has jumped from FF to FG when things didn't suit (with very nasty tactics, threatening to anonymously leak information from the FF national youth committee, among other things), and no doubt he would jump straight into a 'yes' vote if Declan Ganley stopped letting him shout the odds on every primetime political programme in this country.

While I'm by no means a confirmed yes voter, Libertas' petty tactics are far more likely to push me in the 'yes' direction than the oiliness of Roche and Cullen.

That's another thing - if the government is so determined to get a 'yes' vote, then why are they sending out Roche and Cullen to defend it? Madness!