Gang war throws election agenda well off course

World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com

Enda Kenny launched the general election campaign last week with the words of the 19th century Mayo poet (and long-time South Galway resident) Antaine Ó Raifteirí.

“Anois teacht an earraigh beidh an lá ag dul chun síneadh,

Is tar éis na féil Bríde ardóidh mé mo sheol.”

The election was called on the day after St Bridget’s Day. And like the month of February the campaign was going to be short. Three weeks; the shortest in living memory. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

There was a grid that accounted for every second of every day. It had a funky headquarters along with other trendy digital start-ups in CHQ on the Liffey quays.

It had a squadron of volunteers. It had all its rebuttals and ‘pre-taliations’ in place. It was prepared for virtually everything.

Its core message centred on the economy and stability. Essentially, after the fireworks of 2011 it wanted a slightly boring and a relatively uneventful election.

Well as another famous poet, this time the Scots poet Robert Burns said: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.”

Something unexpected and shocking happens that throws everything into disarray. In this case, it is the horrific feud that has erupted between the two most ruthless criminal gangs in the country.

The violence and audacity of the attack last Friday in the Regency Hotel signalled something different and sinister. It provoked an urgency and gravity of response like nothing else so far in the election campaign.

To compound the problem, the feud escalated scarily on Monday night with the revenge murder of taxi driver Eddie Hutch.

He was seemingly targeted for no better reason than he was an uncle of Gary Hutch, the criminal shot dead last year in Spain by the Kinahan gang. He was also a brother of Gerry Hutch aka The Monk.

Gerry Hutch was responsible for a number of the most audacious armed robberies to take place in Ireland, including the raid of the Brinks Allied facility in Clonshaugh, Dublin in 1995. Compared to others he was a pro.

His trademark was meticulous planning and mapping of the target culminating in a quick, dramatic and highly synchronised raid, which was also intimidatory with threats of violence. He was also accused of being involved in a number of hits in Dublin.

Because Gerry Hutch did not touch drugs, he became slightly romantic figure. I myself wrote an extraordinarily long piece about him in Magill in 2000 that was, on the whole, sympathetic.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.