The art of the stroke used to be a hallowed practice in Irish politics. To pull a stroke meant wiping the other fellow’s eye, by fair means or foul. The art might involve anything from “brown envelope” bribes and “nod-n-wink” sneaky deals to a type of sophisticated chicanery by outwardly unsophisticated politicians, known as “cute hoorism”. This was the culture of the Galway tent, so called because of an access-to-power fundraiser the Fianna Fáil party hosted for wealthy businessmen at the west of Ireland horseraces every summer.
Micheál Martin, who was – eventually – reinstalled as taoiseach on Thursday, after scenes of uproar in the Dáil the previous day, declared the age of the Galway tent dead more than 20 years ago, after state tribunals unearthed secret payments made by businessmen to Charles Haughey and Bertie Ahern, his predecessors as Fianna Fáil leaders. Self-described as “a person of substance”, even Martin’s most ardent critics acknowledge his “decency”.
