Milking St. Patrick’s Day ‘til the cows come home

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

You can take the Paddy out of Ireland, but you can’t take the potato out of Paddy. That’s what we learned from our Government’s Saint Patrick’s Day jaunt to the United States.

Among the delegates accompanying An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, to the White House to meet US President Barack Obama, was our very own little leprechaun, Brian Walsh, the Fine Gael Galway West TD.

Though he’s a city-slicker based in Renmore, Brianeen did nothing to combat the Irish stereotype of idyllic countryside and comely maidens dancing at the crossroads when he met the most powerful politician on the planet. When Brianeen met Obama, we hear the Paddywackery was quite spectacular.

He might be a member of the national parliament and Galway man Billy Lawless might be one of the most respected businessmen and advocates for the Irish-American community, but Brianeen had no interest in pedalling fancy notions.

Obama asked him where he was from. Brian said Galway. Obama said: “Oh, do you know my friend Billy?”

Brian replied: “Of course I do. I live about half a mile up the road from where he used to milk cows as a young fella.”

Seán shoots load early on gentlemen’s deal

Do as I say, not as I do.

That appears to be Government politicians’ philosophy towards media embargoes.

A press embargo is a request from a source of information that the news being supplied by that source not be published until a certain time.

And so it was this week with the announcement of new jobs in Galway.

Last Friday, the IDA sent an email to media organisations advising that Jobs Minister, Richard Bruton, would be in the Clayton Hotel at 9am on Monday.

The Minister would be there to “brief media about a jobs announcement”.

There was, according to the IDA, a “strict embargo” on all of the information relating to the announcement until it was made by the Minister.

Then on Sunday, IDT911, a Mervue-based data protection and management company, announced it was to create 60 jobs in Galway over five years.

The company’s press release had all the necessary information contained in it.

But it, too, asked that the statement be embargoed until 8am on Monday.

The embargo was respected by all media organisations, and every politician, bar one.

Galway West Fine Gael TD Seán Kyne, got so excited about the jobs he shot his load early.

Okay, Deputy Kyne’s “announcement” was just 11 minutes early and before the embargo. But either there’s an embargo in place or there isn’t.

And it was hardly just an innocent slip-up. Seán Kyne may be new to politics but he’s not necessarily wet around the ears. The Moycullener knew that by getting his ‘spake’ out there first, he’d be the go-to guy when reporters were looking for quotes.

Why should media organisations – and indeed other politicians – respect embargo requests when over-eager backbenchers can’t keep a secret and are bursting to spill the beans?

Embargoes are, to use an old-fashioned phrase, ‘gentlemen’s agreements’. Breaking them is ignorant.

Like a love-rat who cheats on his partner once, there’s always the fear that they could do it again, no matter how remorseful they are.  And so Séan might find that, in future, Minister Bruton’s department officials will keep him in the dark about any further good news announcements in Galway.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.