FIANNA FÁIL’S poor showing in the first direct elections to the European Parliament, winning only four of Ireland’s 15 seats, helped to undermine the party leader and taoiseach Jack Lynch and lead to his retirement later that year. As the campaign got under way, however, he was in aggressive electioneering form at this meeting covered by Olivia O’Leary. – JOE JOYCE
JACK LYNCH’S glassy blue eyes bored into the middle distance as he contemplated Fine Gael and their allies in Europe. “As far as I am concerned . . . they are conservatives and reactionaries.”
Bitter words – not one of which soured the bland supplied script, as anodyne a script as ever fluttered through the weary hands of a Saturday night news editor. But down in the Stella Ballroom in Limerick, with the Sunday papers safely away to bed, Gentleman Jack took off the gloves. The script had warned politely of “alliances and attitudes that are inimical to Ireland’s interests in Europe”. Labour and Fine Gael’s small representation within their European Parliamentary groups made them ineffective, his script suggested, though “one can accept that Labour Party representatives – and this applies to Fine Gael – would not want to hurt our national interests”.
That’s not the way he put it to the troops in the Stella.
“Fine Gael have three seats in the . . . is it the Christian Democrats they call themselves? I think they have changed the name but as far as I am concerned they are conservatives and reactionaries.” Fine Gael had had a great propensity for changing names in the past but... they remained the same, he declared. Roars of approval filled the hall. The boys from headquarters were not messing, either. Senator Séamus Brennan, his eyes darting angrily around the less than half full hall, swept to the rostrum for a tough, terse speech.
Four points only for European election canvassers, he ordered. Firstly, the Taoiseach would be president of the European Council in July and needed men he could trust at his elbow.
Secondly, Garret FitzGerald wanted to give legislative powers to the European Parliament and wanted to see the evolution of a European Government, a policy which Fianna Fáil opposed. Thirdly, Fianna Fáil stood four-square behind the Common Agricultural Policy. Fourthly, “our record of government is sound. We can stand over it and if they want to take us on, by God we will take them on and beat them on that score.”
But as the huddled conferences and raised eyebrows made clear, one of the We would have to be dealt with before They were taken on. The word was out: seventy-two year-old Chub O’Connor was running a one-man campaign. An ad in last week’s Kerryman revealed all. Vote for Chub, it said, over a map covering a vast area from west Limerick down to west Cork and divil a Fianna Fáil candidate except Chub in sight. Bad Chub. Not the done thing. His welcome from the other four candidates was sceptical, except for Noel Davern, who thinks that Chub is great fun, but well he might, tucked away in Tipperary and Waterford, safely out of reach. When the rally was over, Jack Lynch shook hands all round, remembering every name as usual; and walked slowly up the street, for a quiet drink, his injured foot still giving him trouble. Outside the Post Office protesters [strikers] had gone home after being resolutely ignored by Lynch. Inside the hall were a few stragglers and the RTÉ cameras. “And would you look who’s talking to the television,” said Minister of State John O’Leary, wearily. Up on the stage, bathed in the glow of the TV lights, was Chub O’Connor, on whose Kingdom the sun never sets.
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