Minister for Defence or Offense????

[Declan]

O'Dea denies offering to fight in pub row

By Jimmy Woulfe, Paul O'Brien and Donal Hickey
DEFENCE Minister Willie O'Dea verbally abused two people during a pub row over Shannon Airport and offered to fight one of them, it was claimed last night.

John Fahey, chief executive of the Meet Limerick/Shannon conferencing promotion group, and Geraldine Morrissey, spokeswoman for Aer Lingus workers at the airport, are demanding an apology from the minister over the remarks they say he made.

However, Mr O'Dea claimed last night it was he who had been abused and denied he offered to fight.
The row happened after Mr O'Dea called to South's pub in Limerick last Saturday night with Tánaiste Brian Cowen. Mr Fahey, a prominent hotelier in the mid-west, was there with his wife and Ms Morrissey.

"Mr O'Dea was there with the Tánaiste," said Mr Fahey. "Then they both left together. As they did, a number of people said, 'What about Shannon, what about Shannon?'"

A short time later, Mr O'Dea returned. Mr Fahey said when Mr O'Dea approached their group, Ms Morrissey challenged him over not being present in the Dáil for a vote on the Shannon issue.

"She asked him why he did not take part in the Dáil debate," Mr Fahey said. "He said he was the minister for defence and I said, 'You did not defend the interests of Shannon very well'. At that, he turned around and said, 'Who is that big p***k?' and asked me out saying he would like to hit me. I told him, if he was any bigger I might. He then turned to Geraldine Morrissey and said, 'I don't give a f**k about you'."

Ms Morrissey said she was stunned at Mr O'Dea's behaviour. However, Mr O'Dea insisted the allegations were "rubbish". He said he returned to the pub to collect his wife only to be "roundly abused".

People asked him to explain himself on Shannon. When he tried to speak, Mr Fahey interrupted him only for Ms Morrissey to say, "Let him make his petty point". Mr O'Dea admitted telling Ms Morrissey to "get lost", but denied using stronger language or challenging anybody to a fight.

The allegations against Mr O'Dea came on a bad day for Fianna Fáil. One of its councillors resigned from the party pending the outcome of a Garda investigation into an allegation that he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy, a claim the councillor has denied.

In the Dáil, the Taoiseach was challenged to investigate a claim that a minister had admitted taking cocaine. There was bad news on the policy front too, as the Government's record on health and crime came under attack.

Can you imagine little Willie squaring up to a 6'3" lad

[stephenite]

Can you imagine little Willie squaring up to a 6'3" lad

Wouldn't mess with him meself

[Billys Boots]

Will be interesting to see how they squirm out of this one - I'm not under any illusion that they won't, mind.