Will you vote for Fianna Fail?

[Billys Boots]

FF died with Sean Lemass, since then they have just been a cabal of Mohair suited gangsters. They fact that they were still able to maintain their control of Irish Politics is a reflection of the awfulness of the opposition. Expect neither of these positions to change  in the short to medium term, as a univocal O Reilly controlled media will combine with them to savage the only radical alternative. But the first speckles of light from a new dawn is slowly becoming visible.

Good post.  I think OReillyCorp will desert FF in the next election - it's a sinking ship, and their (Indo etc.) only purpose is to sell advertising.  There's no rationale I can think of for them to support FF; doing so could conceivably lose them revenue.

[seafoid]

FF died with Sean Lemass, since then they have just been a cabal of Mohair suited gangsters. They fact that they were still able to maintain their control of Irish Politics is a reflection of the awfulness of the opposition. Expect neither of these positions to change  in the short to medium term, as a univocal O Reilly controlled media will combine with them to savage the only radical alternative. But the first speckles of light from a new dawn is slowly becoming visible.

Good post.  I think OReillyCorp will desert FF in the next election - it's a sinking ship, and their (Indo etc.) only purpose is to sell advertising.  There's no rationale I can think of for them to support FF; doing so could conceivably lose them revenue.

The Indo is a fading star. That whole model of theirs is banjaxed.

[An Gaeilgoir]

The mind boggles is right, how FF are still at 17% is a mystery to me. This Goverment had brought Ireland over the cliff, with the "cute hoor nod and a wink politics". Be under no illusions taht this political shit goes right form the Taoiseach down to the local FF councillor on the town council, be it messing with planning permissions, getting someone the medical card, dole who, for what ever reason was not entitled to it. Dont even get me started on the builders and their state contracts time and time again regardless of the tender submitted (This is know from experience, are you listening Bernard?). Listening to the Radio today, it was stated that NAMA is free from ALL FOI requests under the legislation that set it up. This Government may be on its last legs but, my kids will have the legacy of our small town solicitors, publicans and teachers who have brought us to ruin.

The sickening thing with Pierse and Mcnamaras going wallop recently is that they have been state funded over the last 2 years as the vast majorty of there work was govenrment (schools, hospitals & service stations). They severely undercut their competitors and were guarenteed payment yet still didnt pay their subbies. And when the next few go the same way ( with Walls, Elliots & Rhatigans aparently next in line) it will be more of the same.

2 out of those 3 names you mentioned up in lights this morning according to what i hear. But after working on the largest state infrastructure project in the country for the past 3 years, it amazed me how the most basic employement laws were flouted by the "friends" of FF and other big players. I knew of electricians getting 10 euros an hour on that project , take it or leave it with the unions turing a blind eye to it all. Then when these so called "reputable"sub-contractors are caught out by the failure of these large building companies the unions are in fighting their cause. The mind boggles. I have to say however anyone getting caught for any moey in the current climate needs to have their examined if their QS's on jobs are leaving them exposed for any sum over 1000 euro.

I know that was off topic but i think it highlights the corruption and collusion between the banks, builders, unions and the tendering process of the state for certain projects.

[Lone Shark]

I am not in the slightest trying to stir sh*t and I am asking this as a serious question in this regard, for the 26 county contingent.

What circumstances must there be before people in the twenty six counties will genuinely give a fiddlers fart about partition of their country? It seems that the prevailing attitudes in the south are either "f**k the nordies" or "ahh a united Ireland would be nice yes, but it's not important".

In the line of work some six months ago, I had cause to meet a national school teacher from Fermanagh who was teaching in Leitrim. He was a very genuine guy, and one who I gathered from the conversation was very active in terms of being part of the SF movement. However he suffered from the same delusion that I think many nordies up there do - he thought that once the North wanted to join with the South, they would be accepted with open arms once that time came. He seemed genuinely upset as I explained that I thought it was way more complicated than that. Quite simply, your second option pretty much sums it up - and when it comes to the actual amalgamation, where either the Nordies have to give up on the NHS and the culture of 50% government employment, or the southerners have to pay the bill for that, there is little or no chance of getting both sides to say yes. It just can't happen.

To tie it back into this thread, people in the south do not care about Ireland - they care about their own corner of it. Given the choice between a politician who wants to put more soup in the pot, or a politician who just wants a bigger spoon for themselves and their constituency, we always choose the latter. Irish voters in Tipperary North couldn't give a flying shi'ite about people in Tipperary South, never mind South Down or Lagan Valley. We care about national sport, and we say we love Ireland, but I can honestly say that I've lost any love or respect for this country as an entity and I'd say most people, if they examine their actions as opposed to their words, would be forced to come to the same conclusion. I love my home county of Offaly as dearly as ever and would love nothing more than to settle down there, but if I have to emigrate, which is more and more likely, I will miss Offaly - I won't miss Ireland.


With regard to the thread topic, the funny thing is that people now have the chance to do the country some real service. At this stage it doesn't matter how much we borrow - there isn't a prayer of it being paid back, so we might as well borrow as much as we can. We're going to default anyway. (The numbers require us to effectively run a 30% surplus every year just to stand still on our national debt - I think we all know the prospects of that happening)

However we do have the chance to actually rid the country of the FF cancer. We talk about the system being broken and it is, but it is broken because they have mastered the art of abusing it. We created a political system designed to give everyone an equal voice, they turned it into a system of self-propagation. Of course it got broken.

But now, we have the chance to cut them off from the oxygen that is power. You won't change a lot of people who are either part of the machine or else pensioners incapable of voting for anyone else, neither can you do anything for those who "just don't like" Enda and can't make the link between the lack of a job and the number one vote they cast in the ballot, but you can keep them down to 20 seats, and then whoever is in has to compound the damage - which requires a few steps.

(1) Hammer into the quangos. Remove most of quangos themselves, and in the remainder get rid of all FF appointees. Bertie appointed his friends - well if their only qualification is being Bertie's friends - boot them out.
(2) Shine a light on every dirty little crevice in this state. State exactly how badly off we are, and make sure people associate it with cronyism, and then let the witchhunt begin. Expand the CAB to take in more corruption cases, change the laws so that the proceeds of criminal activity and bribery can be taken back even after being transferred to spouses or passed on in the case of death, and then investigate every rezoning decision and follow the money. Investigate every planning permission decision. And then hang them from every tree. Make taking a €10k backhander a treasonous offence, and never let them see the light of day again.
(3) Stop protecting dead industry that just has friends in the right places. Unviable small farms living off REPS, bookmakers, publicans, new motor retail, solicitors, all of these sectors have too much froth for all the wrong reasons and they add no value to the economy. Stop subsidising industry because "jobs will be lost" - jobs will follow wherever government money goes - so put it in sensible places.
(4) Change the rules to stop favouring FF's sleveen ways. Political posters add nothing but litter and printing costs - votes should not be cast on the basis of who comes up with the best four word slogan. Ban them. Open the doors to FOI again, which have essentially been closed. Stop the practice of paying for "constituency offices" out of state money. Make using government postal stationary for party political affairs a criminal offence, punishable by loss of seat. Not alone should there be a register of interests, there should be a register of how those interests have been accumulated. Somehow Frank Fahey has gone from being a teacher, to a TD, and accumulated 40 odd properties in the process, worth more than every penny he's ever been paid? Most important of all, make illegal the practice of politicians interfering in basic administration of the state and the hiring of staff. I know two different lads who have been "promised" that when the Guards recruit next, they will be included as long as they don't make an unholy mess of the interview. How many garda transfers, civil service jobs and teaching posts have been given out with the help of nods and winks? This culture has to stop.


I've always used the parallel before that when I was working within the bookmaking industry, the cries for honesty and transparency used to amuse me. Nobody wants honesty and transparency - they just don't want to be the one getting the sharp end of the stick when the favourite gets nobbled and the 10/1 morning shot lands the gamble at 5/2. Irish people don't want a fair game, they just want to be the one with the inside track.

I do think that the time has come to strike while the iron is hot, and take some steps to put an end to that culture. Central  to that is the eradication of FF as a political force for good and for glory, and we've never had a better chance of achieving that than we do right now.

[Declan]

Well put LS

[Billys Boots]

Irish people don't want a fair game, they just want to be the one with the inside track.

And isn't that the truth?

[muppet]

I'll be giving Dara Calleary my vote in the next election because he has done lots for North Mayo and has been a sound lad any time I've met him. I won't be giving 2,3,4 to FF though, always base vote on the strength of the individual candidate.
All this is academic actually because I won't be home to vote anyways. Bondi beach in November...emigration can have it's perks

I'm sure Dara is a nice guy and he seems well regarded. However he voted with his party on the decisions that have just bankrupted the State. Last week I didn't see him stand up for his county (or country) and demand that Cowen tell us the truth that the IMF were here to bail us out, especially since everyone knew it anyway.

There are nice guys in the McCarthy-Dundon gang as well.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

[INDIANA]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

Drumcondra Don still gets his picture taken regularly in his local with visitors. When I see this first hand I say to myself we deserve everything we get.

[muppet]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

The problem with taking a holier than thou position is that you have to stay holy always. No matter how bad the other side are you will be seen to be a hypocrite, even if you only screw up once. Step forward Michael Lowry.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

Drumcondra Don still gets his picture taken regularly in his local with visitors. When I see this first hand I say to myself we deserve everything we get.

I nearly got lynched in there for questioning the glory of the Glorious Leader.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

The problem with taking a holier than thou position is that you have to stay holy always. No matter how bad the other side are you will be seen to be a hypocrite, even if you only screw up once. Step forward Michael Lowry.

Yes very true Muppet, I did temper my declaration, with if Fine Gael and Labour where to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny, all the parties have a few bad eggs, but Fianna Fail is rotten to the core. Micheal Lowry was kicked out of the party ASAP unlike similar FF cases where it took extreme pressure to force members out and many where allowed rejoin the parliamentary party after very short expulsions. One of the characteristics of Fine Gael which has always appealed to me was that they where the Law and Order Party, that fits in with my world view, I believe that they would have kept a better eye on the banks and regulator. That said like all parties they have a few eejits who think they can drink drive and try and bully the Gardai.

[INDIANA]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

Drumcondra Don still gets his picture taken regularly in his local with visitors. When I see this first hand I say to myself we deserve everything we get.

I nearly got lynched in there for questioning the glory of the Glorious Leader.

Stopped going in there even though its convienient. Just sickens my hole. Never voted for him once even though he landslides home in every General election. And will in this one.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Just remembering now an experience before I left Ireland. Was having a drink in a quiet pub (not in Castlebar) having a chat to a mate. My friend goes off to the jacks, so I end up ear wigging the group beside me; the conversation was about the economy, the barman and a few regulars (seemed to be) where having a discussion how the only way to get things done in that town had been to join or be seen to support Fianna Fail, they where wondering about their future prospects (it appears they had joined FF for personal advantage). Felt like throwing my pint over them, pure disgusting at the attitude of a large percentage of the Irish population.

I am so disappointed with the amount of people who will vote Fianna Fail after what they have done to us, it started long before this crises, the corruption and skulduggery has being going on for decades. How the Drumcondra Don is not behind bars I will never know. Some appear to be voting for personalities and others seem to think that if they vote for the party and get a decent enough amount of TD's they can save the party. That's the problem; they want to save the party, not the country. If Fine Gael did this to us, I would be calling for them to be disbanded, but it will take a lot for Fine Gael or Labour to get anywhere close to the treachery of the Soldiers of Destiny. In fact FF/Greens will have tied the hands of the next government or even the one after that. I fear that FG or FG/Labour or Labour/SF or FG/Labour/SF will have to deal with this mess and Fianna Fail will come roaring back in the following election under the deluded banner of "the Republican Party". In Nazi Germany, Soviet Union and Ba'ath Party Iraq they put the party ahead of their countries.

Drumcondra Don still gets his picture taken regularly in his local with visitors. When I see this first hand I say to myself we deserve everything we get.

I nearly got lynched in there for questioning the glory of the Glorious Leader.

Stopped going in there even though its convienient. Just sickens my hole. Never voted for him once even though he landslides home in every General election. And will in this one.

Will he carry Cyprian with him this time How many first preferences did Brady get last time!!!

[RedandGreenSniper]

I am not in the slightest trying to stir sh*t and I am asking this as a serious question in this regard, for the 26 county contingent.

What circumstances must there be before people in the twenty six counties will genuinely give a fiddlers fart about partition of their country? It seems that the prevailing attitudes in the south are either "f**k the nordies" or "ahh a united Ireland would be nice yes, but it's not important".

In the line of work some six months ago, I had cause to meet a national school teacher from Fermanagh who was teaching in Leitrim. He was a very genuine guy, and one who I gathered from the conversation was very active in terms of being part of the SF movement. However he suffered from the same delusion that I think many nordies up there do - he thought that once the North wanted to join with the South, they would be accepted with open arms once that time came. He seemed genuinely upset as I explained that I thought it was way more complicated than that. Quite simply, your second option pretty much sums it up - and when it comes to the actual amalgamation, where either the Nordies have to give up on the NHS and the culture of 50% government employment, or the southerners have to pay the bill for that, there is little or no chance of getting both sides to say yes. It just can't happen.

To tie it back into this thread, people in the south do not care about Ireland - they care about their own corner of it. Given the choice between a politician who wants to put more soup in the pot, or a politician who just wants a bigger spoon for themselves and their constituency, we always choose the latter. Irish voters in Tipperary North couldn't give a flying shi'ite about people in Tipperary South, never mind South Down or Lagan Valley. We care about national sport, and we say we love Ireland, but I can honestly say that I've lost any love or respect for this country as an entity and I'd say most people, if they examine their actions as opposed to their words, would be forced to come to the same conclusion. I love my home county of Offaly as dearly as ever and would love nothing more than to settle down there, but if I have to emigrate, which is more and more likely, I will miss Offaly - I won't miss Ireland.


With regard to the thread topic, the funny thing is that people now have the chance to do the country some real service. At this stage it doesn't matter how much we borrow - there isn't a prayer of it being paid back, so we might as well borrow as much as we can. We're going to default anyway. (The numbers require us to effectively run a 30% surplus every year just to stand still on our national debt - I think we all know the prospects of that happening)

However we do have the chance to actually rid the country of the FF cancer. We talk about the system being broken and it is, but it is broken because they have mastered the art of abusing it. We created a political system designed to give everyone an equal voice, they turned it into a system of self-propagation. Of course it got broken.

But now, we have the chance to cut them off from the oxygen that is power. You won't change a lot of people who are either part of the machine or else pensioners incapable of voting for anyone else, neither can you do anything for those who "just don't like" Enda and can't make the link between the lack of a job and the number one vote they cast in the ballot, but you can keep them down to 20 seats, and then whoever is in has to compound the damage - which requires a few steps.

(1) Hammer into the quangos. Remove most of quangos themselves, and in the remainder get rid of all FF appointees. Bertie appointed his friends - well if their only qualification is being Bertie's friends - boot them out.
(2) Shine a light on every dirty little crevice in this state. State exactly how badly off we are, and make sure people associate it with cronyism, and then let the witchhunt begin. Expand the CAB to take in more corruption cases, change the laws so that the proceeds of criminal activity and bribery can be taken back even after being transferred to spouses or passed on in the case of death, and then investigate every rezoning decision and follow the money. Investigate every planning permission decision. And then hang them from every tree. Make taking a €10k backhander a treasonous offence, and never let them see the light of day again.
(3) Stop protecting dead industry that just has friends in the right places. Unviable small farms living off REPS, bookmakers, publicans, new motor retail, solicitors, all of these sectors have too much froth for all the wrong reasons and they add no value to the economy. Stop subsidising industry because "jobs will be lost" - jobs will follow wherever government money goes - so put it in sensible places.
(4) Change the rules to stop favouring FF's sleveen ways. Political posters add nothing but litter and printing costs - votes should not be cast on the basis of who comes up with the best four word slogan. Ban them. Open the doors to FOI again, which have essentially been closed. Stop the practice of paying for "constituency offices" out of state money. Make using government postal stationary for party political affairs a criminal offence, punishable by loss of seat. Not alone should there be a register of interests, there should be a register of how those interests have been accumulated. Somehow Frank Fahey has gone from being a teacher, to a TD, and accumulated 40 odd properties in the process, worth more than every penny he's ever been paid? Most important of all, make illegal the practice of politicians interfering in basic administration of the state and the hiring of staff. I know two different lads who have been "promised" that when the Guards recruit next, they will be included as long as they don't make an unholy mess of the interview. How many garda transfers, civil service jobs and teaching posts have been given out with the help of nods and winks? This culture has to stop.


I've always used the parallel before that when I was working within the bookmaking industry, the cries for honesty and transparency used to amuse me. Nobody wants honesty and transparency - they just don't want to be the one getting the sharp end of the stick when the favourite gets nobbled and the 10/1 morning shot lands the gamble at 5/2. Irish people don't want a fair game, they just want to be the one with the inside track.

I do think that the time has come to strike while the iron is hot, and take some steps to put an end to that culture. Central  to that is the eradication of FF as a political force for good and for glory, and we've never had a better chance of achieving that than we do right now.

Great post LS. You've convinced me how I am going to vote now, despite what I had suggested up to now. But whoever takes over needs to change dramatically the system or else it will be more of the same. But a line in the sand does need to be drawn by the people. How bad will it be for FF? Less than 40 seats?