Tomás Ó Flatharta

Let’s have a little fun regarding the nomination campaign of the conservative far-right, anti-choice and racist candidate Maria Steen; Steen is a veteran or Ireland’s anti-choice movement; readers can stay up-to-date here :

“Independent Ireland is expected to make a decision tomorrow or Wednesday morning.

Their decision could influence whether other TDs or senators – rumoured to include a small number on the conservative wing of Fianna Fáil – would lend her their vote before the presidential nomination deadline of noon on Wednesday.” (RTÉ News Report).

The entire Fianna Fáil organisation is conservative – although occasionally it makes gestures towards the left. Between 2011 and 2018 the party leadership realised it had to dump a too close association with Catholic Church anti-feminism and the vile crime of institutional child abuse. It is continuing this tactic by nominating the high-profile Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) figure Jim Gavin to be President of Ireland. Gavin states he is pro-choice, pro same-sex marriage, and voted to lift the constitutional ban on abortion in 2018. These statements make him totally unacceptable to the Irish far-right, which includes Maria Steen and the Aontú party led by ex Sinn Féin TD Peader Tóibín, who is in charge of the Maria Steen bingo card. It is a racing certainty Steen will be on the presidential ballot – she has the nominations of 13 or 14 Oireachtas members plus 4 from the Irish Independent party.

So who are the so far mysterious “small number” (!) of FF “conservatives”(!)? Throw aside the ideological labels, and look out for the Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members who fancy a day in the headlines. Fianna Fáil possesses a Ballymagash Beggar-Gombeen wing (also known as the Brown Envelopers) – in other words, a corruptible branch of the party.

Will it help to put a Frankenstein candidate (Maria Steen) on the presidential ballot?

These politicians could say, like the ex Fianna Fáiler and government minister Michael Healy-Rae, they are assisting democracy by signing a nomination paper. Healy-Rae is voting for the Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys in the election. It is a handy each-way bet, a nod-and-wink to the extreme right. It is also cute Kerry politics – Fine Gael is not a strong local rival to the Kerry Healy-Rae dynasty. It has no seat in the kingdom. Fianna Fáil on the other hand has 2 out of 5 seats in the constituency, plus a cabinet minister.

Possible FF nominators of the Frankenstein far-right candidate are – in no particular order – Limerick City’s Willie O’Dea TD, Kildare North’s Seán Ó Fearghail TD, and of course Donegal’s Senator Niall Blaney. it is unlikely any others will risk crossing party leader Micheál Martin, but you never know.

Chuck in another politician of “principle” Marian Harkin of Sligo-Leitrim, and you have more than 20.

Readers are advised to join the entertainment – e-mail Peadar Tóibín with extra suggestions!

Fill up the far-right bingo card from this list :

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/

The Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin states he has been targeted on social media :

Speaking to RTÉ’s Six One News, he said posts targeting him were “very personal in nature” and were predominantly aimed at his family and friends.

He said it has been “normalised in society” that a person can spread misinformation and abuse online without facing consequences, adding that social media should not be a toxic place.

“I’m taking a stand for my family and friends to say this is not good enough,” he said.

The number one suspects are obvious : far-right actors, motivated by the fact that Gavin (a conservative) is pro-choice.

A friend offers a good assessment of Steen who “will cynically try to turn the election into a ‘referendum’ on immigration…..the racism will come in a polite, head girl at the convent, package.” In the 2018 presidential election Peter Casey ran an ugly campaign punching down on Travellers.

My friend continues “Steen has the cop on to dial down the crawthumping when she needs to so she won’t make much reference to gay marriage or abortion apart from when she is rallying the rosary brigade. There will be a bit of scaremongering about trans people.”

A key job of the left-wing candidate Catherine Connolly is to stress feminist pro-choice principles, reminding voters of the hideous dark past in Ireland that Steen represents.