Ready for the long road and long term

WHEN he was still a political greenhorn Cork’s Fianna Fáil powerhouse Joe Walsh offered Micheál Martin advice: “You should be prepared for the long road and the long term”.

Almost 22 years after he was elected to the Dáil, the new figurehead of Fianna Fáil has tip-toed his way to the pinnacle of the political family which defines him.

For the former minister born in August 1960, to a working-class family in Turners Cross, Micheál always knew where he was headed but equally believed he would be around long enough not to rush.