Dan’s tweet loses Trevor’s seat.

Trevor Sargent is someone that I’ve always had time for. I was surprised to hear that he’s resigned. I’m taken back by the letter he sent to the member of the Garda in relation to the case. It really puts the garda on notice that the Minister expects. The party was once told during coalition talks in 2007 by the late Seamus Brennan that they were playing senior hurling. If they didn’t know it before they certainly know it now.
Trevor is a decent politician. Compare how he behaved in comparison to his ministerial predecessor in North Dublin, Ray Burke. Burke is a former Minister for justice but it’s his successor Dermot Ahern to whom most fingers are now pointing. Trevor’s indiscretion occurred over 2 years ago. Fast forward 2 years and one O’Dea less and what is shaken out of the woodwork only a letter from Trevor to a garda which is unlawful according to a law that few people have ever heard of. The net effect is the end of his ministerial career. I can understand the need of a politician to make a representation for a constituent. I do it myself although admittedly never to a garda.

Senior Hurling is a wonderful sport when played well. Minister Ahern comes from Louth, not a stronghold of hurling. Today the green party seem to be squeezing in on his patch with the appointment of Mark Deary to the senate. Louth will be a 4 seater at the next GE with 4 outgoing TD’s, 2 Senators and Labour’s poll topping Ged Nash and maybe an MEP running too.

With all that competition a weakened Green Party is in the interest of Minister Ahern. This evening Minister Ahern when asked about leaking the documents said “I didn’t leak them, and to the best of my knowledge neither did any of my colleagues”. Lately he described the Greens as having been accommodated in government and read between the lines and it seems that Dermot Ahern, the man who regards Willie O’Dea as a friend and shouted touché during the O’Dea no confidence vote while taunting the opposition, should be, to use another fencing term, on guard for what’s left of this term in office.

What’s done is done and what’s lost is lost forever. The greens may well reflect that Dan Boyle’s famous tweet about being bounced has had a very damaging outcome bring the vengeance of Fianna Fail about their heads. In
the meantime the likely elevation of Mary White and the rumoured retirement of Martin Cullen means the Green deputy leader will be the most senior gobernment politican in the south east.