Enda Kenny defends home town whinger remark

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been forced to defend his description of some people in his home town as “All- Ireland whingers” who “wouldn’t know sunshine if they saw it”.

The Fine Gael leader faced an angry backlash yesterday amid opposition claims that his comments showed arrogance and a reluctance to recognise that the recovery has yet to spread to all parts of the country.

However, his party last night insisted he was referring to rival politicians in the area and not voters themselves, despite the Taoiseach failing to clarify the situation himself yesterday afternoon.

Speaking at an election rally in his home town of Castlebar, Co Mayo, on Saturday evening, Mr Kenny said that despite local investment, some people continue to criticise him for a failure to stretch the recovery to the west of Ireland county.

“God knows we have some All-Ireland champions here. I don’t mean Castlebar Mitchels [the local GAA club] I mean the whingers that I hear every week saying there’s nothing happening,” he said.

Asked about the comments at a separate event in West Clare yesterday, the Taoiseach was cheered by party members when he said he did not regret his words, saying “some of them [critics] wouldn’t know sunshine if they saw it”.

He said the “whingers” comment referred specifically to “locals” and was “nothing to do with national politics at all”.

His party last night insisted Mr Kenny was speaking about local politicians, and not voters themselves,

Health Minister Leo Varadkar told the Irish Examiner the Taoiseach “was referring to [FF Mayo candidate] Lisa Chambers and another Fianna Fáil councillor who keeps knocking Castlebar” and that Fine Gael “knows the scars left by the recession”, while Sports Minister and Mayo colleague Michael Ring suggested “maybe the guy was tired”.

However, one minister privately said the comments were “foolish”.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he was “taken aback” by the arrogance involved, while the party’s Mayo-based jobs spokesperson Dara Calleary said “criticism should be dealt with, not dismissed”.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams claimed those labelled as whingers are elderly people languishing on trolleys. Independent Mayo candidates Peter Jordan and George O’Malley said Mr Kenny’s remark is similar to claims by Bertie Ahern in 2007 that those warning of an economic crash were “cribbing and moaning; I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide”.