People who like to pat themselves on the back can be irritating to the point where you’d be tempted to give them a kick on the backside. You probably know the kind of person I’m talking about. A discussion about the price of petrol in the 1980s is hi-jacked while he tells of the many petrol problems he had as national treasurer for the Society of Important People. Or a discussion of corruption will turn into a tale of how he sent a delegation of Corrupters packing, since they were clearly lacking in principles, whereas he…Or they’re the kind of person who gives generously to charities but makes sure everyone knows about it. I think it was Private Eye that labelled such a one of doing good “with thunderous stealth”. Hi, Bono. Hi, Bob.
Then there are those who are enthusiastic about giving someone a kicking but only when it’s clear they are already down. Enda Kenny did something along these lines in a Dail speech castigating the Catholic Church. He was applauded far and wide by people who, like Enda himself, knew that the belt had long gone out of the Catholic bishop’s crozier.
And wouldn’t you know it, Fintan O’Toole is at it in the Irish Times today. Apparently back in the day Fintan and his bride-to-be weren’t practising Catholics and so, on principle, they got married in a registry office. See? Most non-practising Catholics would have weighed their principles against the hurt they might inflict on people who loved them. But not Fintan. Of course, he only mentions this incident because he wants to remind us of what a ghastly place Ireland was at the time – Mother and Baby homes, Magdalene laundries, attitudes to gay people. And to remind us on which side he is and was on, even back then.
What’s the term – virtue-signalling? Fintan must be a good man – he told us so himself.
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