In 1982, the country was stunned by a series of scandals. Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey inspired the sobriquet “GUBU” in describing one but a truly grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented event went essentially unnoticed in Kerry.

SO THAT’S what you meant, Lucinda Creighton, by “a politics of substance, not of sound-bites.” You have risked your political career for your beliefs. Even if the boys are right when they say you will pay the penalty for making your party sweat, you can sleep easy at night.

At the London Olympics last year I could see that John Joe Nevin didn’t want to do an interview after losing his gold medal bout.

When the general election of 2002 was called, the Progressive Democrats looked like the party in serious trouble, but Michael McDowell came to the rescue with a masterstroke.