A few questions and some conclusions…
- My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Although it’s harnessed in government with the DUP, Sinn Féin correctly see that party as their principal political rivals. So didn’t it make sense that they’d want Jamie Bryson’s evidence against Peter Robinson to be as targeted and powerful as possible?
- Was Jamie Bryson’s testimony to the NAMA-probing Stormont committee, coached or uncoached, effective? Nah. Jamie said ‘I can now reveal that Person A was Peter Robinson!’, Robinson denied it, didn’t bother suing Bryson and everyone went home. If money passed from hand to hand in the training of Jamie Bryson, he should be asking for his money back.
- Would it have been OK if Jamie had been coached by somebody else, rather than a man (it’s alleged) recommended by Daithí McKay? Presumably. An SDLP grandee was on the Nolan show this morning and he said the first thing he thought when he saw Bryson on telly was “Woah, this guy’s been coached”. Interesting. Does that mean the grandee has some experience of coaching, since he was able to recognize it in Jamie? Who knows. But the big sin at the centre of this is that Daithí McKay, the chairman of the committee, is alleged to have pointed Jamie towards a coach. Well, hang me high and call me a fenian bastard: have you ever heard of such an unspeakably vile action?
- In the list of problems this little stateen faces, would this alleged action come 87th or 88th? We’ve got A Level students who are wondering if university will mean a half-lifetime of debt; we’ve got Bombardier laying off workers like a dog shaking off water; we’ve got the rumble of Brexit coming down the tracks, loaded with economic and political dynamite. And what are we breathless and eye-rolling about? The chairman of a Stormont committee may have directed a witness at a chap who might have tried to teach him how to string a few words together effectively (which he didn’t).
- Stephen Nolan stressed this morning that ‘documents had been seen by the BBC’. Sammy Wilson was in like Flint to yell himself puce-faced over the horrors of what is alleged to have happened; and even Sinn Féin is busy being appalled, disowning any such horrible action as the (alleged) Coaching of Jamie Bryson.
Jamie’s last Big Day Out was as campaign manager in the last election for Ruth Patterson. That went well. Likewise his role in this shock-horror affair. Most of us vaguely remember Bryson (in a suit) having pressed the nuclear button (‘Person A is First Minister Peter Robinson!), Robinson responding by saying Bryson was talking through his rear end… agus sin é – that was it. No First Minister in chains, no libel case – nothing. The story died as the media moved on to other things. So please, guys – stop trying to apply mouth-to-mouth to a mouldering corpse.
Not my clowns not my circus
Just one small point Jude. I don’t think that Peter Robinson could have sued over Mr Brysons testimony. I think that he was protected under a type of parliamentary privilege rule.
I’m sure Mr Robinson would have sued him if he could. Mr Byrson made serious allegations and presented nothing in the way of hard evidence.
Daithi McKay position is untenable. He was supposed to be a impartial chairman and he was directing Mr Byrson on how to make his allegations.
SF done the right thing and Mr McKay has now resigned and been suspended. That’s a big deal for SF as they are not known for turning on there own.
The DUP will now doubt try to make political hay out of this.
“Thats a big deal for SF as they are not known for turning on their own”
I am honestly at a loss to know if you’re on a wind-up mission here..
I fail to see the wind up Gerry92.
SF are well known and begrudgingly admired for there party discipline and loyalty.
Strange column especially he has now resigned however Jude gets it wrong again.
Daithí McKayis out now. He has jumped or was pushed …who knows. He’s suspended from Sinn Fein so I’d imagine that his political career is probably over now. It’s a wonderful thought mind you that Jamie Bryson was in cahoots with Sinn Fein to bring down another unionist. Now that would be very rich. It’s quite an image . Now what to make of the loose alliance of Sinn Fein and the DUP in power , now that it looks like the DUP’s then, First Minister was being knifed in the back via a Sinn Fein proxy in the guise of an arch-loyalist?
Man….!! This is wonderful stuff for satirists.We know that the DUP and Sinn Fein can barely speak to each other, but now as the UK crumbles after Brexit , should we be looking carefully for some major cracks also developing in the masochistic partnership that currently keeps us delicately dangling from a return to Direct Rule from Westminster? Or will this be just another zephr in a tea cup, quicly spilled out ,only to be swept under the political carpet as usual? I think that a lot of crow will be quickly eaten and it will be business as usual.
We have all heard the chant ” Alice who the F–K is Alice?
I ask Thomas O`Hara who the F—k is Thomas O`Hara ?
By the way has Peter Robinson died? Not a mention of this guy anywhere in the media since he left!!!
It’s possible that “Thomas O`Hara” could even be another one of our famous alter-egos, Jim ..or a catch -all name for a group…”Slugger O’Toole” springs to mind…or what was the other one…”Brownie”?
Perhaps Mr O`Hara is P O`Neill havent heard of him lately
Is this the same Jamie Bryson who was briefed by DUP members during the ongoing Haass talks? Couldn`t be.
Yeah..Jamie’s like that character “Zelig” from that Woody Allen film about the guy who popped up everywhere…
Except that Zelig stood there looking sort of apologetic, as I recall…
Did he not take on the personas of the people he was with at any one time Jude? ….like a sort of social or political chameleon…One minute he ‘d be a Democrat and the next a Republican? …something along those lines ?
You’re probably right, pk. I just remember a balcony scene where Hitler is ranting and Woody is looking apologetic…
As distinct from Jamie sitting looking wide eyed like a rabbit in the headlights!
As I read it,the essence of your blog today is “Nothing to see here folks,move along please”.Is this not contradicted somewhat by the resignation of Daithi Mc Kay and his suspension from the Sinn Fein party?The Shinner spin seems to be that this was a solo run by Mc Kay of which the party was unaware.Given the centralism of Sinn Fein,does this seem likely?!
Not remotely knowing the inner machinations of the SF operation , personally, Argenta , maybe the -powers -that -be thought it would be pragmatic to advise him to leave the stage and wrap this thing up before giving him a more backroom status.He obviously knows he’s stepped in it and crossed a line here ,so he’s either fallen on his sword immediately or been pushed ..What do you think?
Harry
I think we’re probably both blissfully unaware of the inner machinations of Sinn Fein.Maybe Jude has more insights given the alacrity with which the above blog was issued.Given the widespread interest in the Nama issue,is it really credible that (in the light of the well known Sinn Fein reputation for centralism and micro management) that the party only recently became aware of the coaching scenario?In the end however,Daithi(as in the Godfather)was made an offer he couldn’t refuse!!
Of course not Argenta one thing i do know is that this a very murky story and there is much more to come.
Well there have been any number of `solo runs` by DUP members, we are supposed to take THEIR word on those so I think I will accept Sinn Féin`s on this one. Only fair.
This story is apparently a ‘scoop’ by Alison Morris of the Irish News.
How did she get these documents?
Did she receive an anonymous envelope?
Did she hack someone’s Twitter account – legally or illegally?
Did she receive them from someone else who may have hacked them?
Did money change hands?
Did she receive them when she was spending a weekend in Liverpool with her PSNI ‘friend’?
I think the background to this story would be more interesting that what we’ve heard and read today!
Peter Robinson resigned and disappeared shortly afterwards, but has anyone, even in the DUP, missed him?
Is Peter even still alive? Now that’s a bit of a mystery alright. He’s probably sitting somewhere with David Cameron as they lick each other’s wounds …now there’s an image to wrestle with !!!!
You did say wounds, PK?
I did, Jude. Ha ha !
Since the news of that resignation broke down here, Esteemed Blogmeister, the alive and well art of the high-five has quite gone into overdrive in medialand on Liffeyside.
First up was a demented duet featuring a delighted T. Gorman and A. Lawlor on RTE’s News at One:
BIAS ZONE
No matter what they tell us, or what they
Say about d’old brigade or Daithi McKay
S.Fein’s a cult
Our’s to insult
Whatever the weather we’ll still make hay.
As a variation on what Oliver J Flanagan used to have on the front and the back of his bike: “Here comes Rhymin’ Perkin/There goes Rhymin’ Perkin”…
Probably a case of ambition. McKay was hoping that chairing a committee that brought down the DUP top dog would catapult him into a leadership role in the party and perhaps future president. The fortunate thing is that in NI it would take an almighty scandal to end a political career, so he’ll be back.
To add, I’d find it hard to believe that he acted alone or without permission from the top.
This is a story that only those who believe in stormont is worth reporting on. Bryson is a person who’s full of himself and thinks he’s a ‘politician’. McKay was the darling of SF so in my opinion would never have given Bryson any information without the go ahead from McGuinness et al. They thought they were smart in putting Robinson in trouble but he doesn’t care and I daresay he’ll keep his big gob shut over this ‘affair’. But Jude will continue to be briefed by Kearney and spout the SF line on this and continue to make it a story while the real issues of screwing the working class are forgetten about for now
Would you be the Chopper who despite the best efforts of your mates in the Irish News and other disreputable “journalists” could’nt even get elected to Belfast city council .Likewise your joke of a political party could’nt even elect a single councillor in all of Ireland’s 32 counties.
The shinners/provos have dumped McKay very promptly when news came of his meetings with a Loyalist.
It’s now very clear that what McKay did in meeting a loyalist is worse than Gerry Adams concealing his brother Liam’s pedophilia. The Adams brothers both shinner/provo members.
McKay advises a Loyalist and gets thrown out of the party, Adams knew of and concealed pedophilia within Sinn Fein/IRA for years and is still their leader.
Now we know where the shinners/provos priorities are.
The problem for the SFers is that the videos of Thomas O’Hara, doing the rounds, prove he was the Lee Harvey Oswald in all of this. With all due respect the lad could not be capable of coaching anyone as he could barely read his own notes at this year’s Ard Fheis.
So who was using his Twitter account to frolic with Jamie Bryson?
It just goes to prove that in SF when it comes to the bigger picture anyone can be framed.
I hear the SFers are doing coach tours now.
Aye twitter can be a strange place all right.Apparently a chap from Derry had to be banned from twitter at one stage,so outrageous was his behaviour.He then invented a number of fake twitter accounts to continue his reprehensible conduct. He was a constant presence on Mick Fawlty’s site as well. Derry’s a relatively small place Dixie,any chance you would know the chap with the unusual first name?
….Says michael c who hasn’t the guts to use his real name!! Anything to try and divert from the fact that the SFers would cut the throats of their own loyal party members if the need arose.