Irish Examiner View: Government formation - Send for the matchmaker

The pandemic demands that Government has the legitimacy to make hard, possibly divisive decisions.

Michaleen Óg Flynn was a regular St Patrick’s Day visitor in Irish homes for many, many years. He, at least Barry Fitzgerald, was the matchmaker in John Ford’s 1952 film The Quiet Man.

Michaleen might have been familiar with an all-too-common reality of Irish life — the loveless marriage. Indeed, he may have played a significant part in the arrangement of many, especially when the suitors had few options.