Jackie Healy-Rae had an interesting tale to tell on Radio Kerry's Opinion Poll early this week. Niall Madigan asked him to confirm that one day he was late for the train home, a ministerial Merc was made available to shoot him across to Heuston Station. Said Jackie, as only he can, "Well there's no question or doubt, that happened, but I'll tell you a better one than that though . . . I don't know should I say it all, but it seems I'm going to have to now.
"I was coming down the Curragh of Kildare one day, I got permission to leave the House, that everything was in order, and within about 20 or 25 minutes there was a helicopter over me up in the sky directing me to pull into a garage till I be taken back to Dublin for a vote, and unfortunately at the time that we were just preparing to pull in I got the word on the mobile phone that 'twas alright, the thing was cancelled in the House above so I didn't have to go in the helicopter and go back up." Madigan: "So you could have been going back up in the helicopter?"
Jackie: "Oh there's no doubt in the wide earthly world about it." Madigan: "Was it one of Celtic Helicopters?" Jackie: "I couldn't tell you whether 'twas green or blue or what the colour was, or I didn't give a damn I'll be honest with you, and that's a fact. I didn't know who owned it."