O’Rourke warned after ‘blacks’ comment

FIANNA FÁIL’S Senator Mary O’Rourke was last night warned to watch the language she used after praising her supporters for “working like blacks”.

Ms O’Rourke, the leader of the Seanad, made the comment in an acceptance speech after winning a place on the party ticket for the next general election.

She survived a close scare in last night’s Longford-Westmeath selection convention, defeating Cllr Kevin “Boxer” Moran by just nine votes to join TDs Donie Cassidy and Peter Kelly on the ticket.

But the controversial comment threatened to overshadow her win. There were audible gasps among the 500-plus attendance of party members as she said of her supporters: “They were there for me and they worked like blacks.”

She later defended the comment, saying: “I just meant that they worked very hard.”

A colleague later said she had used “a bit of a euphemism that dated badly” in the context of a “very emotive” event.

But Philip Watt, director of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism, said: “Some terminology that would have been in common use a long time ago is clearly unacceptable now.”

However, he said there was a difference between people deliberately using racist language and doing so unintentionally.

“Mary O’Rourke has never been known to make any negative comments towards people of immigrant backgrounds ... But we all have to watch the language we use.”

Last night’s result was in doubt right up until the voting took place after 6pm, but in the end, delegates decided to give Ms O’Rourke a chance to recover the Dáil seat she lost in 2002.

“I know no life other than politics, and it is a noble calling,” she said.

Meanwhile, there was a light-hearted moment at the start of the convention when the chairperson of Westmeath Dáil Comhairle Ceanntair, Gerry Sheridan, introduced Brian Cowen as “our esteemed party leader”. When the laughs died down, Mr Cowen thanked Mr Sheridan for “that unsought promotion”.