Bertie’s legacy no match for Puff the magic dragon

AS the eulogies poured in for Bertie Ahern from everybody and anybody who ever received a free lunch from him, I was struck by the similarities with the fire-breathing dragon in my garden shed.

I believe there is such a creature of Teutonic mythology sitting beside my lawnmower simply because I want to. You can’t see Puff, though, because he’s invisible. He can fly so there are no footprints to indicate he has been in or out.

While there is no evidence to prove his existence, I’m still entitled to believe he’s there. How does this compare with Bertie’s great legacy? Well, like the dragon, lots of people believe in Bertie’s saintly reputation. Sometimes all you need is the collective faith of many believers for something to be real.