The very qualities that elevated Katherine Zappone to high political office might have also contributed to her recent stumble when she was left with little choice but to turn down the special envoy job she had so coveted.
The trail of messages and correspondence over the role – between Zappone on the one hand and former ministerial colleagues and diplomats on the other – show a very direct approach to politics.
She was not shy about putting her case forward, either for an introduction to former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, or with queries relating to when she could start. For many, it amounted to lobbying.
“Katherine Zappone was hugely enthusiastic and was clearly looking for regular updates on how it would materialise and where it was going,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney told an Oireachtas committee this week.
Others see it more simply: “It’s an American thing to be so straight up and direct. It would not be natural for most Irish people to do that. Some people would see it as brash,” said one source.
Such directness helped her before, especially after she won an unexpected seat as an Independent in the Dublin South West constituency in the 2016 general election.
Fine Gael needed Independents. Zappone was quick off the mark. She did not play a protracted cat-and-mouse game like others, deciding early that she would take a Minister’s job in return for comparatively modest demands.
For much of her time in Ireland, Zappone’s life and career were inextricably linked with that of her wife, the late Anne Louise Gilligan. Zappone, from Seattle, met Gilligan when both were doctoral students in Boston College.
When they returned to Ireland, they founded an education and development centre in Jobstown, which eventually became An Cosán. It was brave and innovative and went against the tide. Over time the couple build up an institution that took women (and men) from some of the most deprived communities in the capital and provided them with the space, time and supports to acquire an education, skills or self-improvement. Thousands of women came through An Cosán including Senator Lynn Ruane, who was then a 16-year-old single parent.
LGBT campaigners
The more public side of Zappone and Gilligan was their leading role as equality campaigners, particularly on LGBT issues. They took a case against non-recognition of their Canadian marriage by Irish authorities. They were leading figures in the same-sex marriage referendum campaign.
A person who knew the couple said they complemented each other very well. “Katherine was an extrovert and was full of confidence. Anne Louise was more low-key, but Katherine was very heavily influenced by her wisdom.
“Each had qualities that the other had not, and they created something very strong.”
Zappone entered the world of politics when nominated to the Seanad in 2011 as an Independent by then tánaiste Eamon Gilmore. She never associated with the party during her time there, often voting against the then coalition. She also had a peripheral involvement with the beginnings of what became the Social Democrats.
Zappone’s relationship with Fine Gael as a minister was complex. She was much closer to the party’s thinking than were Independent Alliance ministers, but she remained aloof from the party. When the EU ruled on the Apple tax case, it took her many days to make up her mind on her stance – the delay led to some annoyance. But she also adhered to collective Cabinet decision-making: she voted against a Private Members’ Bill to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which would have gone against all her political instincts and damaged her.
Not collegial
Against that she was seen as instrumental in persuading Kenny to establish the Citizens’ Assembly, which provided the impetus for the referendum.
She was not seen as collegial, though. In the complex chronology of who knew what and when about the events affecting Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, she directly contradicted a claim Kenny had about having a conversation with her about McCabe, saying it had not happened. That caused immense damage to Kenny and contributed to his demise as taoiseach. Similarly, Frances Fitzgerald also found herself at odds with Zappone in relation to accounts of who said what and where.
Clearly, Zappone forged much closer relationships with the younger leadership when it emerged. For some Fine Gael TDs and Senators, there is still a residue of bitterness over Kenny and Fitzgerald. It has led to a puzzlement as to why Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe had gone out on such a limb for her.
