O’Leary the socialist, that is!
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| Michael O’Leary (left) & Garret FitzGerald Photo Credit: Eddie Kelly/The Irish Times |
After becoming leader of the Labour Party on the 17th of June, Michael O’Leary, TD (Dublin Centra) assumed the post of Tánaiste (Deputy Head of Government) and Minister for Energy on the 30th of June.
How, or more importantly, why is this information significant, apart from the 40th anniversary aspect?
Well, it also happens to be the day after voting for the June, 1981 Dáil (Parliamentary) elections took place that this narrator arrived in Ireland.
So, my introduction and welcome to Ireland began in a political climate, so to speak! In actual fact, it wasn’t a sunny day either.
It was also to be the beginning of memories which have been accumulated as a result of 40 years living in Ireland, and some of which I hope to be sharing over the coming weeks.
The rest of this political story and of the life of that government, however, is for someone else to tell!
One thing I have learnt to be ever conscious of is this: never begin a conversation with “remember [the time] when” without checking if the person I am talking to is ever likely to be in a position to remember whatever story I was going to tell in the first place; and I am sure people will know what I mean by that.
Rather embarrassingly, this last point will equally apply to a good number of the current members of the Legislature in Kildare Street, should I have the privilege of being introduced.
