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Pat Leahy: Irish politics in 101 phrases. How many do you recognise?

Familiar cliches down the years, many with a ring of truth

Government Buildings: The years echo with outbursts and statements, many of which have entered into daily communicative currency. Photograph: Bryan O Brien

Pat Leahy's face
Pat Leahy
Sat Dec 24 2022 - 00:01

With apologies to Frank McNally, and for the season that’s in it…

Fianna Fáil and friends

1. The Republican Party

2. A slightly constitutional party

3. Take it down from the mast, Irish traitors.

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4. An empty formula

5. A land whose countryside would be bright with cosy homesteads, whose fields and villages would be joyous with the sounds of industry, with the romping of sturdy children, the contest of athletic youths and the laughter of happy maidens, whose firesides would be forums for the wisdom of serene old age.

6. Let Lemass lead on

7. The men in the mohair suits

8. Would you like a pint or a transfer?

9. This great little country

10. The Boss

11. As a community, we are living way beyond our means.

12. Le Coq Hardi

13. Grotesque, unprecedented, bizarre, unbelievable

14. Dessie can do it

15. When in doubt, leave them out.

16. A temporary little arrangement

17. On mature recollection

18. How’s the hard-workin’ man?

19. A lot done, more to do.

20. Single-party government? No thanks!

21. When I have it, I spend it.

22. We all partied.

23. We have turned the corner.

24. We are fully funded until next summer.

25. There are no discussions with the IMF.

26. The Government has decided to seek a programme of assistance from the IMF.

27. We got things wrong and we are sorry.

28. Confidence and supply

29. All three parties in this new Government believe that climate change is a defining challenge not just of this generation but of human history.

30. A meaningful Christmas

31. The alpha variant

32. A substantial meal

33. Omicron

34. As we look forward to this spring, we need to see each other again, we need to see each other smile, we need to sing again.

35. The big switcheroo

Fine Gael

36. The Big Fella

37. The freedom to achieve freedom

38. Eight young men in City Hall standing amidst the ruins of one administration, with the foundations of another not yet laid, with wild men screaming through the keyhole

39. A shilling off the old-age pension

40. The Blueshirts

41. The First Inter Party Government

42. The Second Inter Party Government

43. The Just Society

44. Garret the Good

45. The Tallaght Strategy

46. The Rainbow Government

47. The f**king Peace Process

48. Paddy likes to know

49. The man with two pints in his hand

50. Let’s keep the recovery going

51. The people who get up early in the morning

52. Get Brexit ready

53. Dear Kylie, just wanted to drop you a note in advance of the concert in Dublin. I am really looking forward to it. I am a huge fan.

54. Prudent Paschal

55. Leo the Leak

Labour

56. The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland; the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.

57. Labour must wait.

58. The seventies will be socialist.

59. The socialists are seventy.

60. I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.

61. The Spring Tide

62. The Gilmore Gale

63. Labour’s way or Frankfurt’s way

64. Power is a drug... It suits me.

65. I was advised by my parliamentary colleagues that they had lost collective confidence in my leadership. This was a surprise to me, but I accepted the decision immediately.

66. The Bacik Bounce

67. There’s no desire within the Social Democrats for a merger.

Sinn Féin

68. Ireland was a nation when England was a pup.

69. Sinn Féin, Ourselves Alone

70. England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity.

71. Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin

72 Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin

73. Provisional Sinn Féin

74. Official Sinn Féin

75. The first thing on the agenda is the split.

76. Republican Sinn Féin

77. Sinn Féin the Workers Party

78. The Workers Party

79. Democratic Left

80. Section 31

81. Will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland?

82. The Peace Process

83. When hope and history rhyme

84. P O’Neill

85. I was never in the IRA.

86. I believe Gerry when he says he was never in the IRA.

87. They haven’t gone away you know.

88. The IRA has gone away.

89. Well hello Mary Lou

90. And rightly so

91. Bigi linn

92. An Ireland of equals

93. Former Sinn Féin councillor Jonathan Dowdall

Greens, Independents, others

94. Reuse, recycle, reduce

95. A deal with the devil

96. You don’t need a car to live in rural Ireland.

97. We’ll have our salads ready to go.

98. The Climate Action Plan

99. The Revised Climate Plan

100. Turf cutting is more important to the people of rural Ireland than wine. Wine is an elite drink.

101. God above is in charge of the weather and we here can’t do anything about it.

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