Ciara Phelan: Marc MacSharry’s departure from Fianna Fáil leaves a sour note in the party

Emotions are running high within Fianna Fáil with most TDs disappointed at MacSharry's departure — regardless of their mixed views about the man himself

Senior Fianna Fáil members privately express regret that Marc MacSharry TD is no longer a member, but some of them also say he was 'difficult' and 'disruptive' to deal with. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer is a worthy piece of advice that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has decided to ignore.

Emotions are high within the Fianna Fáil party following Marc MacSharry’s resignation, with the majority of TDs disappointed with the outcome despite which side they supported.

That being said, plenty of MacSharry’s colleagues are also pleased they may see an end to “unnecessary outbursts” from Marc, but willingly admitted that they wouldn’t have the liathróidí to say that publicly.

It was only a matter of time before there was a blowout as the Taoiseach and MacSharry’s relationship was on a rocky road for a long time.

In fairness, despite his policies being compared to a totalitarian regime and facing constant criticism by MacSharry, Martin has remained calm.

The majority of TDs I’ve spoken to over the past few days were united in saying that MacSharry can be “difficult” to deal with.

'You don’t mess with the MacSharrys,' as a senior FF member put it. Marc is pictured at Leinster House in March 2016 with his father, Ray MacSharry, after winning the Sligo-Leitrim seat his father had occupied. File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

And although he is within his right to criticise his party’s leader, it was his “sometimes bad attitude and use of outrageous language” towards Martin that lost him support in this latest debacle.

However, the handling of a complaint made by Fianna Fáil councillor Dónal Gilroy ahead of MacSharry’s readmittance to the party has also brought into focus Martin’s ability to handle a sensitive matter with care for both parties involved.

It’s without question that Martin and Fianna Fáil HQ had to investigate an alleged bullying complaint.

What senior FF members are saying

But, as one pro-Martin TD put it, “if you can’t put a few ‘fucks’ in a message then you’re in the wrong game if you call that bullying”.

It is the view held by many that the matter could have been dealt with quickly and the fallout could have been avoided. One TD said: 

Very little investigating was needed now to know those messages weren’t of a bullying nature and it should have only taken a day or two to sort out, but instead of dealing with it quickly, it turned into a circus. 

“I’m not happy with [Martin’s] handling of it at all,” said another.

“It was a fucking handbag fight on WhatsApp, actually to be honest with you I wouldn’t even classify it as a handbag fight,” said a third TD.

The same TD said “the bar is pretty low now” and believes Martin has set a precedent for any further complaints made.

“If I say to someone, ‘Ah will you ever fuck off with yourself,’ does that mean I’ll be investigated too if a complaint is made?

It’s all a cod if the chances are now you could face a disciplinary action over something like that. 

Some also believe Government chief whip Jack Chambers was “unsettled” because it was his job to deliver the news to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party that something had come up that would see a delay to MacSharry being readmitted.

One said: “There are plenty of other people caught up in this mess including those in the party’s background who are upset at the turn of events.”

In a previous meeting, when it was proposed that MacSharry should come back into the fold, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue hit out at his impending return and said he had previously made comments that were not in line with party ethics.

One FF member said: [Marc MacSharry]'s likable and I’ve nothing against him, but he is disruptive to the point that there’s no need for it and, quite frankly, I think the majority of people would be happy for him to stay outside of the parliamentary party.' File picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins 

Last night, one senior Fianna Fáil member said: “To be honest, a lot of us agree with Charlie but he was the only one that had the balls to say it outright.”

They said nothing has changed with MacSharry’s attitude, they see no improvement from the time he decided to quit over how the party was being run ahead of the confidence motion tabled against Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney.

“Anyone I’ve been talking to within the party said it had been great with Marc not shitting all over us, week in and week out, and it appearing in the papers,” one said. 

“He’s likable and I’ve nothing against him, but he is disruptive to the point that there’s no need for it and, quite frankly, I think the majority of people would be happy for him to stay outside of the parliamentary party."

MacSharry had to publish the text messages because it was the only way to protect his name as the complaints procedure wouldn’t have done so.

The conversation began to turn ugly around Leinster House before it was known what the complaint consisted of.

And if MacSharry did not move to release the texts, it’s fair to say his name would have been blackened. 

Publishing the messages has served him well.

Opposition TDs privately asked what had happened and, given there were few details, the matter was left open to interpretation.

Some believed the complaint made could have been of a criminal nature, which was far from reality.

Did Martin see a window of opportunity to have one less man to worry about when it comes to an expected leadership heave down the line?

Plenty say it is not his style to “play dirty politics” and Martin is not calculated and would probably be disappointed himself over how the sorry affair has played out.

Surprisingly, a TD that would normally stand shoulder-to-shoulder beside their leader thinks otherwise.

They said they believed that Martin didn’t want the Sligo TD to return and MacSharry was “provoked” by the process.

“I’m also annoyed that Marc took the bait,” they said.

It’s also important to look at how quickly Martin jumped to defend Robert Troy.

Although they are two completely different scenarios, the Fianna Fáil leader made sure to show his support for Tory even though there continued to be a drip feed of information for days about Troy’s properties.

Mr Troy later apologised and resigned for his failure to fully declare the extent of his property holdings in the Dáil register of interests, among other things.

Mr Martin was steadfast in his support for his former minister despite the sensitivities surrounding the housing situation in Ireland and had him travel in his car to the party’s think-in as well as sit beside him at dinner.

Taking this into context, and that Martin likely knew the content of the text messages Marc MacSharry had sent, it’s fair for some to come to the conclusion that he was shafted.

And that view has been confirmed to many given two days after MacSharry’s resignation, the Taoiseach voluntarily told reporters yesterday that he believed the issue “could have been resolved fairly easily”.

“I wish him well,” Martin added.

The timing of this comment is telling. Mr Martin’s tone and messaging have changed significantly since the complaint first came to light.

His initial response was that there was very good reason as to why he couldn’t comment about the decision taken to put a halt to MacSharry’s readmittance to the party and he was “not at liberty” to comment further on it.

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The difficulty facing Martin out of this fiasco is the reception he receives and the views of grassroot members on his handling of the complaint.

MacSharry is a big Fianna Fáil name; “You don’t mess with the MacSharrys,” is how one senior party member put it.

Whether Marc MacSharry resigns completely from political life remains to be seen but what is known for sure is the row has left a sour taste in people’s mouths as a result of Micheál Martin’s part to play in his decision to resign.