Presidential Election

[Leinsterman]

Gay Byrne on the red carpet at Lansdowne Road meeting the teams:

"well done sonny, off you go.... over the line and under the posts. Lots of tries for Uncle Gaybo.... lovely, lovely...."

[waterboy]

If uncle Gaybo gets elected then I'll lose all hope for this country. People would be voting for him for the same reasons they voted for that other populist muppet Bertie the bollix who got us all into this mess in the first place, ie he seems like he'd be a bit of craic over a pint.

[Leinster Exile]

If uncle Gaybo gets elected then I'll lose all hope for this country. People would be voting for him for the same reasons they voted for that other populist muppet Bertie the bollix who got us all into this mess in the first place, ie he seems like he'd be a bit of craic over a pint.

It would be Sherry for Uncle Gaybo and he wouldn't be letting filthy proletariat scum like you and me into his drinking den (Whatever that may be)

[Slipper1]

If the taoiseach got a house then he'd have to take a mahoosive pay cut

I am being serious here, I thought the Taoiseach actually had a house? provided by the OPW. Not Farmleigh, but close to it.

Cowen stayed there a couple of times and in the politically correct & cover you arse times we live in, had staff take an average of the B&B rates in dublin and paid that rate for his time spent there.

The exercise of setting a price probably cost more that the figure paid over.

[Broken Wing]

No, Bertie always defended his massive salary when it was compared to Bush or Blair's by saying they had houses provided for them and he had to pay for his own teabags.

[Scott]

If the taoiseach got a house then he'd have to take a mahoosive pay cut

I am being serious here, I thought the Taoiseach actually had a house? provided by the OPW. Not Farmleigh, but close to it.

Cowen stayed there a couple of times and in the politically correct & cover you arse times we live in, had staff take an average of the B&B rates in dublin and paid that rate for his time spent there.

The exercise of setting a price probably cost more that the figure paid over.

Your right S1. There is a gaff on the grounds of Farmleigh (not the main house) that is owned by opw. Cowan used it a fair bit instead of his city center apartment. I remember him being asked about it on The Last Word back in the day

[Scott]

dp

[waterboy]

Think it was originally to be used by foreign heads of state etc when they visited but some genius gave planning permission to a block of apartments right across the road with clear views of the grounds/house which in fairness gave the security services of most foreign dignitaries some security concerns!!!

As others have said Cowen used it on occasion and I'm sure Inda is doing the same.

[Scott]

Think it was originally to be used by foreign heads of state etc when they visited but some genius gave planning permission to a block of apartments right across the road with clear views of the grounds/house which in fairness gave the security services of most foreign dignitaries some security concerns!!!

As others have said Cowen used it on occasion and I'm sure Inda is doing the same.

Surly foreign heads of state stay in the main residence Farmleigh house and not the lodge. I'm off to google the sh!t out of this (& Zeitgeist)

[Scott]

Steward's Lodge
From Wikipedia - so ye know!

There is no official residence of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland)). In the 1970s, plans were made to turn the former Apostolic Nunciature (formerly the Under Secretary's Lodge) in the Phoenix Park into an official residence. However, the plans fell through and the Georgian building was subsequently demolished.[1]
In 2006, it was announced by the Office of Public Works that the Steward's Lodge (a house located on the Farmleigh Estate) had been renovated, at a cost of nearly €600,000. It was speculated that the house would become the official private residence of the Taoiseach after the 2007 general election and any official engagements would be carried out in the nearby Farmleigh or Government Buildings.[2]
There was political sensitivity at Government level about the project, with some concerned that it could be depicted as a lavish "perk" for the Taoiseach. In 2005, a spokeswoman for the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stated he had no interest in using it, and he remained resident in his private home in Drumcondra in Dublin.[2] In 2008, it was reported that the new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, might use it as his official residence.[3] Media reports suggest that Garda concerns for the Taoiseach's security precluded him from continuing to reside in his own Dublin home in the city centre.[3] Cowen did not live there but used it "from time to time".[4][5] However, the Sunday Mirror reports that Cowen's successor, Enda Kenny, will become the first Taoiseach to reside at the Steward's Lodge full-time.

[future international]

So Gay Mitchell dropped into an interview recently that he has an Irish rugby playing cousin, anyone know who it is?

[Amz]

Paddy Wallace.

[Donny B.]

Gaybo officially isn't running, thank jaysus!

[tate]

Gaybo officially isn't running, thank jaysus!

thanks be to god, nice little publicity boost for his new show though.

And his ego as the nation worshipped at his feet

[Peg Leg]

Gaybo officially isn't running, thank jaysus!

thanks be to god, nice little publicity boost for his new show though.

And his ego as the nation worshipped at his feet

Was glad to see that he acknowledged the level of work involved and his choosing not to take on such a burden at this stage is the correct thing to do, but his reasoning of "not being what the people want " is a bit of a cop out and perhaps undemocratic!

[hugonaut]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing17.html

Michéal Ó Muircheartaigh [81] aiming his hat towards the ring.

[fourthirtythree]

Steward's Lodge
From Wikipedia - so ye know!

There is no official residence of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland)). In the 1970s, plans were made to turn the former Apostolic Nunciature (formerly the Under Secretary's Lodge) in the Phoenix Park into an official residence. However, the plans fell through and the Georgian building was subsequently demolished.[1]
In 2006, it was announced by the Office of Public Works that the Steward's Lodge (a house located on the Farmleigh Estate) had been renovated, at a cost of nearly €600,000. It was speculated that the house would become the official private residence of the Taoiseach after the 2007 general election and any official engagements would be carried out in the nearby Farmleigh or Government Buildings.[2]
There was political sensitivity at Government level about the project, with some concerned that it could be depicted as a lavish "perk" for the Taoiseach. In 2005, a spokeswoman for the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stated he had no interest in using it, and he remained resident in his private home in Drumcondra in Dublin.[2] In 2008, it was reported that the new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, might use it as his official residence.[3] Media reports suggest that Garda concerns for the Taoiseach's security precluded him from continuing to reside in his own Dublin home in the city centre.[3] Cowen did not live there but used it "from time to time".[4][5] However, the Sunday Mirror reports that Cowen's successor, Enda Kenny, will become the first Taoiseach to reside at the Steward's Lodge full-time.

Brian Cowan used to live in the same apartment block as I did back then (as his city residence) before he was taoiseach and they very definitely didn't want him there and moved him to Farmleigh. Constant problems with the automatic gate. So, yes, the taoiseach has a residence in Dublin should he want it. I can imagine most wouldn't want to and I doubt that Farmleigh has the administrative backup that Downing St. has

[Leinster Exile]

Steward's Lodge
From Wikipedia - so ye know!

There is no official residence of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland)). In the 1970s, plans were made to turn the former Apostolic Nunciature (formerly the Under Secretary's Lodge) in the Phoenix Park into an official residence. However, the plans fell through and the Georgian building was subsequently demolished.[1]
In 2006, it was announced by the Office of Public Works that the Steward's Lodge (a house located on the Farmleigh Estate) had been renovated, at a cost of nearly €600,000. It was speculated that the house would become the official private residence of the Taoiseach after the 2007 general election and any official engagements would be carried out in the nearby Farmleigh or Government Buildings.[2]
There was political sensitivity at Government level about the project, with some concerned that it could be depicted as a lavish "perk" for the Taoiseach. In 2005, a spokeswoman for the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern stated he had no interest in using it, and he remained resident in his private home in Drumcondra in Dublin.[2] In 2008, it was reported that the new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, might use it as his official residence.[3] Media reports suggest that Garda concerns for the Taoiseach's security precluded him from continuing to reside in his own Dublin home in the city centre.[3] Cowen did not live there but used it "from time to time".[4][5] However, the Sunday Mirror reports that Cowen's successor, Enda Kenny, will become the first Taoiseach to reside at the Steward's Lodge full-time.

Brian Cowan used to live in the same apartment block as I did back then (as his city residence) before he was taoiseach and they very definitely didn't want him there and moved him to Farmleigh. Constant problems with the automatic gate. So, yes, the taoiseach has a residence in Dublin should he want it. I can imagine most wouldn't want to and I doubt that Farmleigh has the administrative backup that Downing St. has

Jesus , someone just love demolishing Georgian buildings back in the 70s

[tackle-bag]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/bre ... ing17.html

Michéal Ó Muircheartaigh [81] aiming his hat towards the ring.

A truly great man, but I have to say I don't think he's qualified for the office of President. At 81, he would be likely to experience significant deterioration in his physical and mental health during the course of even one term. I appreciate that the President of Ireland doesn't have as stressful a job as many other heads of state, but there is still a vast amount of travel and work involved.

There's a fairly substantial movement on various social networks attempting to induce Martin Sheen to run. I appreciate that having a President who has spent almost his entire life in a different country would not be ideal. However, if Sheen were to enter the race, I think he would be the best candidate among the current batch by a considerable distance. He's getting on, but still 6 years younger than Gaybo and a decade younger than Micheál. He also has a track record of political activism in respect of a number of noble causes.

I have been lucky enough to meet the man on two occasions; his love for this country comes across as incredibly heartfelt. He has also spent a great amount of time in the country, getting to know the people and doing charitable works. Just last Winter, during the snowstorms, he went around Dublin delivering food and newspapers to elderly people who were stranded (including the priests of St. Michael's College!). Sadly I think his response to any approach will be the same as that which he provided to the Democrats when they tried to get him to run in Ohio some years ago:- "I'm just not qualified. You're mistaking celebrity for credibility."

[TerenureJim]

Jesus , someone just love demolishing Georgian buildings back in the 70s

Not just Georgian Dublin but a whole lot of things that made Dublin special. There was a systemic attack on the infrastructure and architecture of Dublin from the 1950 through to the late 1980's. Local and national politicans, semi-state managment etc were disasterous for the demolishion of a large tract of the Georgian mile (where the ESB HQ stands), the Theatre Royal (one of the largest theatres in western europe which once stood where the Screen cinema and the Dept. of Health now are), the view of Christchurch from the river at woodquay (stunning view, possible park and major viking settlement destroyed by Sam Stephenson's Third Reich bunkers), the tram system, the harcourt street railway line, broadstone train station, the currently unused train tunnels under the liffey.... I could go on.

It could be argued that Haughey doing up Government Buildings in the late '80's was the major event that made people in administrative circles being to care forDublin again.