It Occurs To Me: The presidential post-mortem and the voter in Cavan

A voter in Cavan included an attached portion of washing powder with their ballot.

Obviously a hint for ‘cleaning up their act’. That powder would have come in handy in Cork North West where one ballot had excrement added! Definitely a ‘spoiled’ vote.

A voter from North Monaghan cast a ballot for Donald Trump. One wrote in block capitals above Maria Steen’s name: ‘Donald Trump please save our country. Another slogan used was: ‘President Trump Ireland needs your help.’

That’s not a spoiled protest vote…that’s buck eejit stupidity! Other names added were Enoch Burke, Father Ted, Michael Collins, Bobby Sands,and Donald Duck.

Meanwhile, Mick Wallace then shared a clip showing the new President with a tricolour balaclava, alongside a Palestinian keffiyeh before holding up a large gun and roaring: ‘Uachtarán.’ With friends like these, who needs enemies? Catherine should ensure that the Wallace rabble never darken the door in Phoenix Park. The sectarian abuse suffered by Heather Humphreys was disgusting and well done to Mary Lou for condemning it.

And what of Fianna Fáil?
Cork TD James O’Connor told the Irish Examiner that Fianna Fáil could have won the election if Billy Kelleher had been chosen as the party’s candidate over Jim Gavin.

“Micheál Martin has accepted the blame,” he said. “He apologised to the parliamentary party, and he apologised to the entire Fianna Fáil organisation at the Cairde Fáil dinner.

“I think Billy Kelleher would have been an outstanding candidate for the party, a credible candidate, and also somebody that has all of the attributes and skills to perform in an election that, at a minimum, demanded that.” As I write, John McGuinness, Anne Rabbitte and John Lahart are seeking change. When you see Darragh O’Brien, the ex-Minister for Housing, supporting Michéal, in football terms, that’s what’s known as the ‘dreaded vote of confidence’

Louth FF TD Erin McGreehan congratulated Ms Connolly on her victory.

“Nonetheless, as a Fianna Fáiler, I’m disappointed that we are here,” she said. “We had a candidate on the ballot, and the leadership decided to disenfranchise our grassroots by [the Taoiseach] saying he was voting for Heather.“ At our PP [parliamentary party], it was expressed that a preference for another party should not happen.”

Privately, Fianna Fáil members were furious over how the election was carried out. One Fianna Fáil TD told the Irish Examiner that the election had been “some shitshow” and “our lads made an absolute balls of it”.

Another parliamentary party member said that it is “incredibly concerning” that such a high number of people either did not vote or spoiled their votes. “People just can’t afford to have their heads buried in the sand anymore.”

Some in Fianna Fáil were particularly critical of Michéal Martin’s handling of the campaign, placing huge blame on the party leader. “He might want to disassociate himself from the shambles but he can’t,” one TD said. “He is at fault… You can’t just say sorry for a €500,000 mistake.” As regards Jim Gavin, Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor noted: “Elevating him one day and then throwing him under a bus the next has to be the most unceremonious dumping on a candidate in modern Irish political history.”

As for Fine Gael, Fionnan Sheahan’s analysis was stark: “The signs were there for weeks, but nobody thought the Fine Gael collapse would be this brutal. Is it a protest vote? A power shift? Or the first cracks in Ireland’s old political order?” Some ‘crack’ alright! I heard Sean Kelly on RTE shafting the FG parliamentary party with no filter! Oh dear, if only Heather had practised a wee bit of ‘keepy-uppy’ in Drum. Looks like washing powder and excrement may have further outings before the year’s out.

The Gallant O'Reilly's
The death of Vincent O’Reilly at the age of 107 in Omagh recently brought back many memories.

Vincent was driving up until he was 96, and loved swimming in Rossnowlagh. One of a family of 13 from The Derries, Killeshandra, his brothers included The Gallant John Joe and Big Tom, both All-Ireland winners with Cavan … the latter in 1933 and 1947, and famously, John Joe in 1947 as captain and also in 1948.

As a youngster my father took me ‘ceilidhing’ to the O’Reilly household, but it wasn’t until decades later that I realised the extraordinary significance of the Derries football home I drank tea in. To add to the football DNA, we often visited Phair’s Pub in Killeshandra…Packie was a cousin of the O’Reilly’s and won an All-Ireland in 1933 alongside Big Tom. Packie’s wife was a ‘Sadler’ Doherty from Carndonagh and we were always warmly welcomed.

In 1972, another 1947 legend, the great Mick Higgins, a three-time winner in 1947, 1948 and 1952, was a huge plus for Brian McEniff when we won our first Ulster title.

As Brian told Peter Campbell in 2022: “We were looking for a manager so I tried Mick Higgins, the ex-Cavan great, and he said would not take it and told me to take the job myself and that he would help me.”

Mick once said: "I would safely say that John Joe O'Reilly was the greatest Cavan man of them all. He was very easy to get on with. As our captain, he'd point out your mistakes, and he was a wonderful clean footballer. I never saw him take an unfair advantage either with club or county.

I usually played on him in training and there was always that rivalry between us trying to outwit each other. I'd safely say we never had a heated exchange and we were great friends. I looked up to him and so did everybody else..." Sadly, John Joe was assured immortality when he died at the age of 34 as a result of a kick in the kidneys in a club match in Kildare…he was an Army Commandment in The Curragh.

Big Tom was a hero for different reasons…as reported in The Anglo-Celt: “On Monday last, a valuable horse, the property of Henry Martin, Marahill, got into difficulties when drinking at a lake near Killeshandra and swam out for nearly half a mile when he turned back but when 20 yards from the shore, he became stuck in the mud.

Mr Tom O’Reilly, captain of the Cavan GAA team, divested himself of his clothing and waded out to his chin with a lasso, which he threw, catching the animal by the neck. Then, with assistance, he pulled the horse to safety to the shore, nothing the worse of the adventure.”

Football ran through the big O’Reilly clan. For Cornafean, Big Tom won nine Senior Championship Cavan medals, seven as captain. Interestingly, in the 1936 county final, he marked his own brother, Michael. Michael had transferred to Cavan Slashers after a dispute with a club official and lined out at centre half-forward. Asked by George Cartwright, who authored a wonderful book about John Joe, about the awkwardness of having to mark a close relation in a big game, Tom commented: “It wasn’t awkward at all, you went for the ball, that was it.”

The accompanying photograph shows the late Vincent reading his legendary brother’s biography. His daughter Geraldine is a renowned visual artist and former Arts Officer with Fermanagh and Omagh Council. Last week, she told me: “He had a wonderful life.”

When he was 102, she said: “Daddy is a very good humoured and witty individual who is always positive. He always makes people smile when he is in their company, with his wit and humour. With Daddy the glass isn’t just half full, it's three quarters full”.

Although football was not what informed Vincent’s remarkably long life - he was a farmer until retirement in his 80’s - he attributed his longevity to moderation in everything. To mark his 100 birthday he was delighted to receive his cards from the Queen and Michael D Higgins.

He was a keen swimmer and walker, who also loved reading and dancing. He would have walked three miles a day, and visited the gym until his later years. Married to the late Margaret, a native of Virginia, they had seven children. His granddaughter, Ciara, got married in Bunratty in 2019. The new bride started the first dance with her new husband but finished it with her 100-year-old granddad.

‘Gallant’ to the last!

A badly-needed laugh
On the night of the Presidential declaration, I went to see impressionist Conor Moore and had a sore stomach from laughing after two hours. Trump, Joe Brolly, Michéal and Simon, Mary Lou, Davy Fitz, Dessie Farrell and Paddy Kielty…he ‘did’ them all hilariously.

One of the biggest laughs was when he mentioned his wife Fiona, a MacDonald from Carndonagh. When he met and courted her, he claimed, she was very much in the Daniel O’Donnell mode, but once they were married, she turned into Pearse Doherty! The switch of accents and tone was side-splitting. Go see him…he’s a tonic.