Problems caused by success, says Bertie to party faithful

For nearly an hour yesterday afternoon Noel Dempsey paced up and down the garden of the Sligo Park hotel with a mobile glued to his ear.

Earlier he had told a press conference he would continue consulting with victims groups; some wiseacre reckoned he was phoning every one of the 1,730 who have made allegations. The annual Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting is like a last dress rehearsal for the Árd Fheis.

Sadly, the audience consists only of a handful of protesters, a couple of handlers, and the media The gardaí easily outnumbered the protesters. until a bus-load of Aer Rianta workers turned up However, the ambush party were headed off at the pass; Transport Minister Michael Brennan agreed to meet them for impromptu talks.