Wise old owls are wide-eyed as government starts to self destruct

It’s hard to imagine anything more destabilising of the government than a heave against the leader, writes Fergus Finlay

Imagine, if you will, a small parliament gathered for lunch. Nice room, in a decent club in the heart of the city, good wine with the beef, perhaps even a glass of port at the close of business. All gentlemen of course, and these gentlemen are here to work. Well, if not to work, to cogitate, reflect, ponder – to gather and share the wisdom of their world.

Don’t misunderstand me. The parliament I’m describing is no mere collection of elected representatives. Parliament, I discovered recently, is the collective term for owls. And these are wise old owls, with many years of public service between them, a fine track record of advising governments over many years, and in many cases responsibility for negotiating on Ireland’s behalf with considerable impact.