Have FF been struck dumb by McDowell’s self-serving twaddle?

I don’t want to suggest that Ireland’s EU presidency wasn’t important, or that it wasn’t a great success.

It was both, and great credit is due to everyone involved the Taoiseach, his colleagues, his advisers, and our diplomats. The last six months will reflect well on Ireland in a whole lot of places for a long time to come.

But it's over now, and it's time to get back to our own politics. There can be a tendency, after a hectic period of involvement on the international scene, for politicians to regard what's happening at home as parochial and petty. But it's not. In fact there is a major debate going on in Ireland, and Fianna Fáil, of all parties, seem to have been completely subverted by it.