THE CREAM of the Irish diaspora gathered to hear Taoiseach Brian Cowen outline his vision for the future of the Irish economy underneath the enormous chandeliers in Farmleigh's ornate ballroom, writes
MARY MINIHAN
Some of the great and the good may have been in bullish form in this particular china shop, but businessman Denis O’Brien, who arrived while Cowen was speaking, managed to spot an elephant.
“We need a Yes vote [in the Lisbon Treaty referendum]. That is absolutely the elephant in the room for Ireland at the moment,” he told the media afterwards.
“And I’d urge everybody out there in all parts of the community to play a role and tick Yes.” O’Brien wasn’t so positive about the management of Independent News Media (INM), although he stressed his this was for business reasons and “not a personal thing”.
Speaking earlier, Cowen had also called for a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum. And he too said that business decisions – by leading multinationals to invest in Ireland, in this case – were simply based on business-case analysis.
But the Taoiseach may also have been making a discreet appeal to the emotions of those who had left the auld sod to do us proud elsewhere.
“All of our global community has played – and must continue to play – an important role in the economic development of this island,” he told them.
Introducing Cowen earlier, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin gave participants a rare and tantalising portrait of the Taoiseach as a young man.
“As someone who lived in New York as a young man, he has a unique appreciation for the emigrant experience, the difficulties our people abroad sometimes face,” he said. Tell us more, Minister . . .
Meanwhile, Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe, referring to the assembled CEOs, financial experts and creative types who had travelled from all parts of the globe to Farmleigh, said: “You couldn’t buy the level of expertise that is in there.” Perhaps Labour leader Eamon Gilmore was feeling a little underdressed. “I’m the only one who looks poor,” he laughed.
“Everyone else is a bit corporate.”
With his leather jacket, scarf and messy hair, Bob Geldof certainly wasn’t looking corporate, although the outspoken activist said he learned something new yesterday.
“Cork University is one of the leaders in immunology, I just found that out,” he said.
Geldof said while he wasn’t sure what immunology was, he was impressed, although he expressed surprise that someone from California, rather than Cork, had told him this.
But then Cork people have other things on their minds at the moment, among them perhaps Martin, who will be taking his guests to see a certain game in Croke Park tomorrow.