Alison O'Connor: Irish citizens deserve better than Stephen Donnelly's calamities

When we look back, we will be stunned to think that the person in charge of the most important brief during a pandemic was seen as a bit of a doofus, writes Alison O'Connor

Doris Day as Calamity Jane, the nickname given to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in some political circles. Picture: Courtesy Everett Collection

When I was first told it, it seemed too mean to repeat in public. But as time has gone on its accuracy has overtaken its cruelty. I’m referring to the nickname being bandied about in certain political circles for the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly: Calamity Jane.

One of the calmest people I know involved in politics told me they nearly threw something at the television on Monday night when the health minister single-handedly gave the parents of the nation a severe blood pressure spike.