Thomas, Micheál and Michael

They say politics is show biz for ugly people. I’d suggest, in some cases, politics is a home for those who’ve had their sense of irony removed.

At present all Irish media outlets – RTÉ, BBC, The Irish Times etc – are going full throttle about one Thomas Gould TD. He’s a member of Sinn Féin and he’s been questioned  over financial issues at a company where he previously worked before becoming a Sinn Féin TD. Gould vigorously denies the charge. The Irish Times managed to smuggle in a reference to a statement made by Gould supporting Martin Ferris and his attitude to the IRA. Micheál Martin may be busy abroad, but he’s found time to comment on the questioning of Gould: “These are fundamental principles of due process, so I would err on the side of allowing the process to take its course”

“Where’s the bit about the sense of irony being removed?” you may ask. Well, it’s just that Michael Lowry, who’s been a TD for decades, headed the group of ‘independent’ TDs who eventually agreed to prop up the present Fianna Fail/Fine Gael government.

Back in the late 1990s, the Moriarty Tribunal found  “beyond doubt” that Lowry was a tax evader and had assisted businessman Denis O’Brien to acquire a lucrative mobile phone licence, when Lowry was the Minister for Communications. O’Brien went on to become one of the richest men in Ireland.

If Micheál hasn’t seen the irony in being sniffy about a Sinn Féin TD who has been found guilty of nothing while welcoming the clammy embrace of Lowry, who has had some, um, controversial relationships with one of Ireland’s richest men, then there’s no point in me or anyone else pointing out that Lowry also had a very expensive wing added to his house  paid for by another very rich Irish businessman, Ben Dunne.

Fundamental principles in Irish political life are pretty damn malleable, it seems.