Bruised party must return to its roots

I’M one of the many thousands of Irish people who describe themselves as having been “born into” Fianna Fáil; there are now, however, very many (a majority, I fear) among our number who have long since desisted from ascending the mountain-tops to proclaim to all and sundry their political heritage.

What once was a badge of real and justifiable pride has, for many, evolved into a source of shame and embarrassment, probably most frequently expressed by comments such as “my father/mother would turn in the grave”, or “I hate to think what my mother/father would think of them all”.

How did we get to this sorry state? Whenever the question is asked, names are immediately rolled out, depending on who one’s particular favourite/least-favoured may be, and blame laid at their respective doors for all the party’s difficulties and, while we’re at it, all of mankind’s vicissitudes as well. As ever, reality, and a thorough analysis, indicate otherwise. All the finger-pointing in the direction of Dev, Lemass, Jack, Charlie, Albert, Bertie and Cowen, while not entirely misplaced, would be more appropriately directed at the mirror first; while those of high-profile (leaders or others) must carry the major portion of the blame for the crisis in which the party now finds itself, each and every rank-and-file member must ask of themselves some hard questions, starting with “what brought me to describe myself as a member of Fianna Fáil?”, and “have I done everything which could have been reasonably expected of me to justify my membership of Fianna Fáil?”. For too many of them, their honest answer will be to the effect that they joined the party for their own selfish personal purposes, and that they haven’t pulled their weight in the context of real political activism.