The Lisbon Treaty - leading public figures comment on where the country stands now, writes Michael Parsons
Brian Cowen:
Come all ye maidens young and fair,
And listen to my heart's despair;
I'd rather be in Clara with the turf upon the fire,
Than on a plane to Brussels where I face Sarkozy's ire!
Enda Kenny:
You're a long, long way from Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore now, Taoiseach, and your party is in disarray.
Micheál Martin:
Crisis? What crisis? Listen, Fianna Fáil is absolutely united on how to handle this matter.
Dick Roche:
It may be necessary to consult the people once again.
Mary O'Rourke:
That is foolish, foolish talk. We will not be able to carry another referendum. The sooner we realise that, wake up to it, the better.
Martin Mansergh,Fianna Fáil TD, Tipperary South:
L'état c'est moi! - which, incidentally, is often wrongly attributed to Louis XIV - was never of course uttered by Giscard, but that is typical of the campaign of deliberate obfuscation and demi-truths of the poujadist No side.
Mattie McGrath, Fianna Fáil TD, Tipperary South:
Don't mind what they're saying up in Dublin.
The Lisbon Treaty is dead and buried.
Didn't the people vote No? And Sarkozy and the likes of him can go take a run and jump.
Michael O'Leary:
Don't get me started.
I mean those noddies and plonkers in Brussels who spend all day in cahoots with eco-loonies couldn't even organise a p**s-up for a stag party in a departures lounge.
What this country needs is someone like Sarah Palin.
And did you see that those useless f**kers at the Dublin Airport Authority have increased the cost of long-term parking by three times the rate of inflation? Next thing they'll be charging people for a drink of water.
Ben Dunne:
As I said on Liveline: "Joe, if you don't know, vote No."
And that's what I'll be saying next time.
I read the Lisbon Treaty. All 300 pages of it.
Lord knows I've done some stupid things in my time but I'm a businessman and I'll tell you one thing for nothing: I wouldn't sign a contract I didn't understand. That would be as crazy as giving a cheque to someone and not getting a receipt!
Declan Ganley:
I want Ireland to have closer links with Europe but I do not think it is in the national interest that a wealthy, self-appointed, unelected elite is imposing its agenda on the people of 27 sovereign states.
Ivan Yates:
My business is gambling and I'll make no apology for that. If anyone wants to have a bet - and did I mention that Celtic Bookmakers has 64 branches across the country? I'll give you odds of 7/4 on that there'll be a second referendum next spring.
Amanda Brunker:
Oh. My. God. It's soooo boring! I was trying on a dress in a shop once in Lisbon and I asked the saleswoman, "Does my bum look big in this?" but she didn't have a clue what I was saying.
Willie O'Dea:
We won't take any lessons in democracy from Fine Gael. We all know that party's credentials when the spectre of fascism hung over Europe. And if Senator Regan wants to step outside and settle this matter once and for all then bring it on, baby!
Nicolas Sarkozy:
That sounds like an Irish solution to an Irish problem.
Padraig Walshe:
Are you listening? Peter Mandelson, José Manuel Barroso, Charlie McCreevy - can you hear me? You boys took one hell of a beating at those trade talks in Geneva! Don't mess with Irish farmers again, do you hear?