When you’re in a hole, the usual advice is to stop digging. Or occasionally, in the case of men, blame the wife.
Take Deputy Luke “Ming” Flanagan, who was less than impressed by the queen’s speech at Dublin Castle. Ming was sure “she’s a lovely woman”, but he wondered how well she would be able to cope “if she had to work all her life cleaning houses and rear a family without any nannies, etc”.
The deputy for Leitrim and south Roscommon declared his granny to be “a far more extraordinary woman”, and we can’t argue with him on that score.
He didn’t agree with all the people who said her performance was wonderful: “Sure anyone can read a speech, especially if you’ve 50 years practice at it.”
Needless to say, Wednesday night’s discussion on RTÉ Radio’s Late Debate also took in the queen’s regal ensemble at the State banquet. The panel – apart from Ming – loved her white silk dress, “adorned with 2,091 hand-sewn embroidered shamrocks”. Deputy Flanagan couldn’t care less about the frocks and tiara.
This is because he is currently the victim of fashion fascism in Leinster House. “I regularly sit in the Dáil chamber and have abuse roared across at me, as do many of my colleagues, because we look slightly different to the people across from us,” he said. Then he introduced a sinister note: “There are people at the moment working on making sure we all look the same in the chamber.”
Panellist Tim Pat Coogan, hopping on the ball, murmured, “Give it a chance”.
Ming replied defiantly: “If they had a chance, they’d make us dress the same as them.”
Well. Imagine our surprise when we saw him strolling across the plinth on Thursday morning with a suit carrier slung nonchalantly over his right shoulder. It was from Black Tie. After the celebration concert in the Convention Centre, the suited and booted (but tieless) deputy said that his wife made him do it.
