Yes camp preparation was right this time
That comment told a lot.
In the first campaign last year, the Yes side afforded its rivals on the No side a head-start of several months.
While Fianna Fáil was first bedeviled by Bertie Ahern’s tribunal woes and then obsessed by his departure, No campaigners such as Sinn Féin and Declan Ganley of Libertas had Lisbon all to themselves.
And they made the most of it – holding a string of press conferences, meetings and other events that helped generate momentum for a No vote before the Yes campaign had even cranked up its machine.
Needless to say, the Yes campaign didn’t make the same mistake this time.
While the pro-Lisbon parties didn’t “officially launch” their individual campaigns until the first week of September – roughly a month out from polling day – they had been selling the message on Lisbon for weeks beforehand.
They weren’t caught cold this time.
And the nature of the message they sold was another massive factor in their victory.
The Yes side made this referendum all about the economy – promising that recovery would begin if the country ratified the treaty.
At a time when Irish people are fearful about their jobs, their homes and their children’s futures, that message worked.
It led to accusations from the No side that the pro-Lisbon parties had simply been scare-mongering – deliberately playing on people’s fears to ensure that the treaty was passed.
Various representatives on the Yes side have, inevitably, denied that charge.
But the accusations are correct.
Take, for example, recent comments by Pat Cox, the former European Parliament president and leader of the “Ireland for Europe” group: “Being at the heart of Europe is the only platform we have for recovery.
“A No vote would collapse consumer confidence, scare off potential investors and lead to political isolation for Ireland.”
Mr Cox will argue he was simply calling the situation as he saw it, but such dire warnings were a frequent part of the Yes campaign.
Much less frequent this time were gaffes by the pro-Lisbon groups.
In the first campaign last year, we had the country’s two most senior politicians damaging their own efforts for a Yes vote.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen admitted he hadn’t read the treaty in full and then ignited a row with Fine Gael and Labour by appearing to suggest the two Opposition parties weren’t doing enough to get the treaty passed.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, meanwhile, displayed a glaring lack of knowledge of the workings of the European Union when she erroneously suggested that the larger member states each got two commissioners.
Fianna Fáil kept Mary Coughlan off the stage this time round, and while Brian Cowen led the party’s campaign, he played everything safe and avoided own goals.
Much of the hard running – such as debating against Declan Ganley – was left to the likes of Mr Martin, who was Fianna Fáil’s director of elections for the campaign, and who will receive much of the credit for the outcome.
The other pro-Lisbon parties did their bit, especially in urging people who were angry with the Government to “hold their fire” and wait for a general election – another message which appears to have paid off.
The business community also swung its weight behind the Yes campaign, perhaps fearful that it couldn’t be left to the politicians.
In fact, practically all the main players in Irish society – the establishment parties, the business groups, individuals in the Catholic and Protestant Churches, the Irish Farmers’ Association and so on – came out to support the treaty, and simply overwhelmed the No side in the end.
It was the equivalent of a highly-fancied and funded sports team which, having suffered a shock defeat against a team of minnows because of complacency, made sure there was no repeat second time round.
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