By George: A hard day’s work

George Lee’s media profile dwindled during his fleeting political career – but he made up for lost time since his resignation, writes Political Correspondent Conor Ryan

HIS sensational statement was sent at 12.39pm on Monday from his office in Leinster House 2000, the most recently refurbished annex in the Oireachtas complex.

This teed him nicely for a confrontational return to Sean O’Rourke’s News at One on RTÉ from its Dáil studios.

Here he outlined his reasons for bailing out just nine months after he explained his broadcasting retirement on the same show.

Afterwards, Mr Lee did a one-on-one interview with Today FM’s political correspondent, Justin McCarthy, which was carried on its news bulletins.

Then it was the turn of Lunchtime with Eamon Keane on Newstalk, where he revealed political life was not for him and that he had been offered a frontbench post as a sop.

The ever-ready journalist- turned-TD-turned-journalist drew his breath briefly before talking to Joe – Duffy – on Liveline on RTÉ before 2pm.

Here he took flack from an often angry audience but also got his largest shot in the arm of the day.

A snap poll of more than 16,000 listeners overwhelmingly supported his decision to abandon politics.

This was his longest radio performance of the day and was followed immediately by an engagement with the cameras and dictaphones of the parliamentary press corps.

The so-called doorstep interview took place outside the gates of Leinster House and provided the television shots for the evening news bulletins where he waved goodbye to politics.

By this stage Fine Gael realised it needed to respond to its former star claiming to know of dark mutterings about Enda Kenny’s future.

So by the time Lee began the dinnertime segment of his offensive, he no longer had the airwaves to himself.

The Last Word on Today FM with Matt Cooper had Lee interviewed at 4.30pm.

But afterwards, time was allowed for Fine Gael strategist Frank Flannery and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan to deliver counter-arguments.

Flannery also appeared on RTÉ’s Drivetime show with Mary Wilson, which featured the full Fine Gael revenge with deputies Lucinda Creighton and Leo Varadkar defending the party.

At the time Lee was pitching his message to the listeners of Scott Williams’ On the QT for Dublin’s Q102. George Hook, whose RTÉ documentary on Haiti preceded Lee’s later television performances, also had the defected deputy on-air for Newstalk’s talk show, The Right Hook.

Radio was put to bed in the early evening and it was television time for Lee.

First he went live on TV3’s News at 5.30 with Alan Cantwell.

Next up was a similar piece with Bryan Dobson on RTÉ’s Six One News, which also gave time to his former Fine Gael constituency colleague, Olivia Mitchell.

A half-hour earlier the station had confirmed that the terms of his leave-of-absence meant that his old job was still open to him.

He was live in RTÉ’s Montrose studios for The Frontline with Pat Kenny. It is normal practice that RTÉ guests do not do repeat performances on multiple shows and it is a no-no in broadcasting to appear on a competitor’s slot.

But Lee was an exception. And before clocking off for the night he travelled to Ballymount, beside the M50, to get grilled on his political beliefs on the Tonight Show with Vincent Browne.