McDowell could start a row in an empty room but he’ll be a big loss

McDowell talked emotively about his love of country, which he had demonstrated by his involvement in politics at considerable cost to himself.

It is not that he was badly paid, but he was at the height of his earning power in a lucrative profession and could have earned much more at the Bar

THERE is a saying in Leinster House that nobody ever talked their way into the Dáil, but many people have talked their way out. Some people were re-elected last week who hardly said a word in the chamber over the past five years, but Michael McDowell undoubtedly said too much and offended too many people.