Cowen's new Cabinet

[Bogball XV]

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment - Mary Coughlan
Only qualification that I can deduce for her becoming Tanaiste is that she is best of buds with Biffo! Not that I have any problem with that, the position doesn't hold any real power anyway!

Has anyone on the board had any dealings with an Tanaiste nua. She is effectively my new boss and I will be in close contact with her over the next month or so??  She seems v popular in Leinster House....and I hear she has a quare tongue in her head...takes no shit

I heard from someone who knows her that diplomacy wouldn't be her strong point, no airs nor graces anyway (which is why she apparently turned down the first position offered to her the other day).  Supposed to be good craic though and fair.

[Louth Exile]

LE, I have my doubts about that. Cowen was also on the Senior panel for a while around 80, 81, 82.
I have a feeling that might have been a misprint re Kilkenny, and should have read Kildare. Only guessing though.

I asked about this before on another thread and thought it was yourself that confirmed it was correct?
Caught the tail end of a piece on the lunchtime news on radio 1 during the week and they were talking to Eugene Mc Gee and the like about his footballing prowess. He mentioned about driving back after a game to Dublin with Cowen and Connor from Kilkenny, after being beaten by Carlow. So that might have been it either, with the greatest of respect to Carlow, they are not much further up the football ladder than Kilkenny are!

He was on the Senior panel in early 82 until it had to be cut back to 24 players and was dropped then. By Mc Gee's own admission, he said that Cowen probably blames him for not having an AI medal from 82

[J70]

Is Mary Coughlan the most senior Donegal Politician ever?

She probably is. Her uncle's predecessor, Joe Brennan, was Ceann Comhairle, while Blaney was obviously very high profile, but I don't think we've had anyone at the level of Tanaiste before.

[Aaron Boone]

I think it was time for a change at Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs. Let's see can Eamon Ó Cuiv do any other job.

[Bogball XV]

Well, it's the big anniversary - how well has the (pre-reshuffle) new cabinet done??  How close to the mark were we with our predictions?