The cost of courage

Eamon Gilmore’s Labour party will be licking its wounds after the Meath East by-election for some time to come.

The party got just 5% of the vote compared to 21% in the 2011 general election.

As a countrywide repeat would consign the party to history it might be sensible to consider what that might actually mean. Would it mean a Dáil populated by more representatives of the calibre of Luke Ming Flanagan, Mick Wallace or Richard Boyd Barrett? Maybe a few more Stalinists like Joe Higgins? Would it mean Sinn Féin, possibly post the Adams/McGuinness leadership, would finally be king makers?