Labour pains coming fast and furious for beleaguered Gilmore

THE clue is in the name really. Labour. It doesn’t paint word pictures of sunny skies, optimism and basking in the glow of an affectionate electorate.

Rather it speaks of toil, pain, and under appreciation. The name, of course, has its origins in the honest labour of workers, but that is not what comes to mind when thinking of the Irish Labour Party.

It’s rarely been easy being Labour. There is an expectation of angst and conscience-examining when the party is in opposition, let alone in Government. It leaves little time for the trumpeting of successes, and anyway that sort of behaviour is looked on as somehow unseemly.