O’Hanlon hits out at attack on father
In an unprecedented outburst, the usually easygoing entertainer said he was outraged when an “unruly mob” struck out at his father Rory — the TD and Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil.
When crowds surrounded the TD during a visit to his Monaghan constituency last September, son Ardal admitted he was outraged.
Gardaí provided a body shield around Dr O’Hanlon as protesters raged over the suspected downgrading of the county hospital.
The TD was attending a ceremony at the opening of a new bypass road.
“My own father was attacked by an unruly mob in Monaghan which I found quite shocking. This man in his 70s who had spent a lifetime in public service, who had done an awful lot for his home county and he was attacked by a mob. He was man-handled, he had stones and mud slung at him, he was barracked and abused, he had umbrellas poked at him, he was punched, he was spat at. Apart from anything else, I suppose I was a little bit surprised by the sheer anger out there in the first place,” he said.
The angered protest, organised by the Monaghan Community Hospital Alliance, spurred comedian Ardal into launching a political initiative. His new television programme “So you Want to be Taoiseach” debuted last night. The former Father Ted star hopes it will be a “self help step-by-step guide” for people interested in a career in politics. It will be driven by political reporters and politicians.
