Sometimes things just slip out. You’re not concentrating – operating on a kind of autopilot – and next minute you’ve said something that, after reflection, you realize you shouldn’t have said, because it’s not appropriate or because it’s ill-thought-through or because it reveals a nasty side of you.
It can happen to an of us. A few days ago, it happened to the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, when he described the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as “a nut case’. Sammy, as far as I know, doesn’t have any qualifications in mental health, but he has based this diagnosis on the fact that Varadkar has sided with the EU rather than Britain in terms of Brexit.
More recently, Sammy was reported as regretting having used the word ‘nutcase’. However, he made it clear that he believed Leo would ‘destroy Ireland’, which wouldn’t be what you’d expect from a sane, level- headed man in charge of a state. You’ll notice that was ‘regret’ which Sammy expressed. Not an apology. He probably was modeling himself on his party leader Arlene Foster, who, you’ll recall, regretted talking about republicans as greedy reptiles. That could be and in many cases was interpreted as regretting the crocodile thing because it had energised Sinn Féin voters to put that party within touching distance of her own.
Anyway, to get back to Sammy: he has previous, if we’re to believe reports.
For example on 3 November 1987, The Irish News reports Sammy as saying “Irish is a leprechaun language.”
On January 17 1988, The Sunday World reported Sammy’s comment on his fellow-Belfast councillor Alex Maskey, who had been shot in the stomach by loyalist paramilitaries: “Old Leadbelly.”
On 5 March 1988, The Andersonstown News reported Sammy as saying “Our message to the perverts who voted for them [Sinn Féin] is that they will get nothing through this council”.
On 24 September 1988, The Irish Times reports Sammy as saying after the loyalist killing of Gerard Slane: “I have no regret that someone openly identified with terrorist organisations activities meets his death the same way”.
On 6 September 1989, The Irish News reports Sammy’s sporting assessment: “The GAA is the sporting wing of the IRA”.
On 15 June 1991, The Sunday World reported a Sammy comment elicited by the loyalist killing of Sinn Féin councillor Eddie Fullerton” “Would this council be prepared to congratulate all those who have done a good job on two sides of the border?”
On 3 September 1991, The News Letter reported Sammy’s comment on those voters who re-elected Joe Austin of Sinn Féin: “5,000 subhuman animals”.
On 1 June 1992, The Daily Express gave Sammy’s judgement on gay rights activists who had requested use of City Hall: “They are poofs. I don’t care if they are ratepayers. A far a I am concerned they are perverts”.
On 12 January 2000, The Irish Times reported Sammy’s judgement on Catholic ratepayers “Taigs don’t pay rates”.
And finally on 17 January 1994, The Sunday Herald carried a chilling, detailed report about a “Doomsday plan” the UDA had drawn up, in the event of British withdrawal. It included a redrawing of the border, with up to three counties being ceded to the Irish Republic. There still would have been a sizeable number of Catholics left within the shrunken state, and these would have to be dealt with in one of three ways: “expulsion, internment or nullification”. Sammy’s comment on the reported plan: “A very valuable return to reality.”
To the best of my knowledge, all these comments from Sammy down the years are accurate. If you have information that they’re not, I’d be happy to hear from you and amend this blog accordingly. Likewise, if you have information that Sammy has apologized (or even any regrets) for any of these utterances, I’d be glad to hear so that too could be incorporated.
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