O’Dea pistol photo - Minister set a poor example

LUCKILY, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea shot only himself in the foot when he pointed an automatic pistol at photographers.

Unwittingly, he turned a photo opportunity for the 25th anniversary of the army Rangers into a political debacle.

Characteristically, the combative minister rounded on his critics, telling Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte to “get a life” and accusing Fine Gael of raising a smoke screen.

Perhaps he should reflect on his own naïvete in adopting such an aggressive posture for the camera. With feuding gangs killing each other on the streets of Dublin and Limerick, his own constituency, the minister’s judgement was poor.

The family of a farmer gunned down in a land dispute expressed dismay and called for stricter gun controls in a country with 220,000 legally held firearms. By chilling coincidence, shots were fired through the window of the home of a Fianna Fáil county councillor in Kilrush yesterday.

To his credit, Mr O’Dea stresses he had no intention of offending anyone’s sensibilities and denies he was glamorising gun crime. Yet, eight out of 10 people who phoned Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme yesterday were critical of his action.

As Minister for Defence, he set a poor example, particularly for children who are advised never to point a gun at anyone.