Eoghan Harris in meltdown mode
Eoghan Harris has taken to railing against the Irish Independent and RTE for not adopting a sufficiently anti-republican tone to their reports and interviews in the Presidential election campaign to date. Harris lambasts the Irish Independent for making an “extraordinary error of judgement” by allowing “northern nationalist” Martina Devlin to pen an article for the paper (linked by Mick in this post), comparing the historically anti-republican Indo to ‘An Phoblacht.’
Harris then attacks RTE and the Irish Independent for conspiring to produce a ‘moral fog’ around McGuinness, stating that this “confirmed my fears that the Weimar combination of economic recession and political myth-making are creating the conditions for the triumph of a nationalist-socialist movement like Sinn Fein.”
The zealously anti-republican Harris was responsible for the ‘tribal time bomb’ charge against Mary McAleese in 1997, a time when few public figures would have regarded being linked with Sinn Fein in any manner as being advantageous or beneficial to their cause.
How times have changed. So far during this election campaign, the following figures have all publicly endorsed Martin McGuinness’ campaign and/ or allowed themselves to be associated with the veteran republican figure: Colm Meaney, Fionnuala Flanagan, Roddy Collins, Peter Sheridan, Stephen Kenny, Peter Canavan and Eamon Dunphy, whilst both the Rev. David Latimer and Fr Michael Canny attended the Derry launch of his campaign.
There’s little doubt but that Martin McGuinness has got the celebrity nod in this election, for what that’s worth.
In electoral terms, very little I’d imagine.
But in terms of illustrating how far removed from the margins of Irish electoral politics Sinn Fein are today, it is a significant indicator.
Little wonder Eoghan’s so vexed….
Hit the bunker Eoghan, Ireland’s changing!
Harris also claims to have had a death threat from a MMG supporter. Desperate
Eoghan Harris – the Victor Meldrew of political commentators. The poor man has executed so many political u-turns and flip-flops, from neo-Stalinist-Stickie to Fianna Fail Senator, over the last few decades, he now faces the danger of disappearing up his own fundament.
Harris is a one-trick pony. If he doesn’t like your argument, slap a silencing order on it. He effectively, while working in RTE, silenced an awful lot of rational debate on the Northern problem. Now he wants to repeat this failed tactic by not allowing a democratically elected politician to give an alternative viewpoint to the majority of the Indo’s columnists.
He also appears to ignore the irony contained in his mention of fears of a Weimar state. Doesn’t he realise their weapon of censorship is the one he is advocating? And if he himself can change so radically, why can’t he give MMG the benefit of the doubt? Yet another demonstration that irony is not his strong point.
His most outrageous claim was that The Sunday Independent did not oppose Hume/Adams. Marion Finucane had to step in an correct him on the facts.
Calm down dear – Eoghan’s not that bad; his desire for Mary to run for a third term – despite her limitations – is a sad reflection on the calibre of the current candidates.
The item by Martina Devlin was poor by comparison with that of Liam Fay’s Indo piece on Comical Marty and ‘where he hid in the war’ yarns before a Monaghan audience
Just wondering out loud if the policies adopted by Eoghan Harris et al in RTE along with the implementation of Section 31 in the South actually prolonged the conflict in the North?
Chris Donnelly: for not adopting a sufficiently anti-republican tone to their reports and interviews in the Presidential election campaign to date.
He didn’t actually say that at all, though it might seem so to someone who believes only the Provos are real republicans.
I actually think Harris has played a significant role in the growth of Sinn Fein, he just didn’t realise it. It’s finally dawned on him that he’s not important and his opinions are irrelevant to the majority.
lol very funny banjaxed ..
just about every position he’s taken in politics
has turned out to be wrong
Banjaxed
Yes he has a truly unparalleled track record on his pronouncements on matters northern, never to my recollection getting it right once in his life to date. His record on matters southern is only fractionally less impressive – still believing the Irish Times is under the control of Trotskyists, last time I checked.
People who figure that even broken clocks are right twice a day really haven’t yet caught up with the Harris files. Perhaps it’s some secret Stalinist code he’s talking in.
Over the years he has been arguably Ireland’s most consistent anti-fascist.
Its laughable how nobody seems to have noticed that the Sinn Féin genie cannot be put back into its bottle.
The chief media cheerleaders for the process are now in a state of shock and…..it seems in Harris’ case anger.
In 1998, it was assumed that SF would be a comparatively minor player…….certainly a secondary role in Norn Irons future.
This is now a highly optimistic view.
Even after 2007, it was assumed that SF could be contained largely within Norn Iron.
In early 2011 it was assumed that 10-11% was about SFs maximum potential.
By October 2011, SFs critics would consider it a major triumph for them if they could contain SF to say 15%.
Pundits really only have their reputation for getting it right.
Thats all that actually matters.
And the things that they got so spectacularly wrong means they have lost all credibility.
Without any credibility in reporting and analysing politics………they are now defaulting to a line which attempts to influence results.
Pretty pathetic.
Former South African Minister and ANC leader Ronnie Kasrils, actor Brendan Gleeson and director Jim Sheridan have also endorsed McGuinness over the weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9BgH17bC8A
Well in that case…
@Ulick
What is the source for the Brendan Gleeson and Jim Sheridan endorsements?
BTW, on topic, the Sindo campaign is just getting embarrassing now. Harris is horrific; a censorious, lying, fickle, sycophantic relic of a bygone age in Ireland.
He is the best asset the McGuinness campaign could wish for, and a true nightmare for Gay Mitchell’s team.
Can’t find any reference to Gleeson. He may have him mixed up with Colm Meaney who phoned into Pat Kenny. Michael D will be concerned at the loss of the luvvie vote. I believed it is Jim Sheridan’s less talented sibling who has endorsed the IRA’s most famous deserter.
And for those wondering who Kasril is, he helped run MK during its homicidal phase in the 80s, so the affinity is perhaps unsurprising.
“Whatever the drawbacks and failures I am convinced that in years to come humanity will look back to Soviet achievements as a source of profound inspiration”
R. Kasrils, Armed and Dangerous.
I’m making no final decision of course until I hear which way Dustin is voting.
“Former South African Minister and ANC leader Ronnie Kasrils, actor Brendan Gleeson and director Jim Sheridan have also endorsed McGuinness over the weekend.”
Ulick,
If Mrs Brown backs him then it’s in the bag.
Jimmy Sands, Limerick
Keep me posted if there’re any rumours of support coming in for Himself from the Maxi, Dick and/or Twink camps, would you ?
Actually Twink in charge of the phone canvassing would give the race an edge.
@West Sider
Not sure, read they were supporting him last night on politics.ie
Looks like Marty will have to change his campaign slogan to “The Z-Lister Celebrity’s President”.
Are Jedward still in play?
Chris your headline should read ‘Eoghan Harris still in steel backbone mode’
This has been his line for decades, and why should he ever waver? Just because some local hacks don’t understand political violence nor subversion?
One of the few real republicans remaining on the island, we all owe him heaps. Irish separatist activists get media coverage and jobs at the NI Assembly, instead of life sentences for murdering people. But those old enough to remember the atrocity exhibition that was Provisionalism still have to suspect that the suspension of mass murder and selective assassination is just an interim arrangement pending the development of further tools of subversion.
The price of freedom really is eternal vigilance.
It is our republican duty to keep SFs past and future moving in one peaceful and democratic direction.
Thanks Eoghan for drawing the roadmap.
Chris, why aren’t you promoting Comical Marty’s latest ‘weird’ idea?
Videos ideally should be between 15 and 20 seconds in length and emailed to yourvoice@thepeoplespresident.ie. The more weird and wonderful the location the better!
This initiative is not just confined to Irish people living overseas. Videos are welcome from across Ireland as well.
“The more weird and wonderful the location the better!”
The Shankill?
Ballsbridge?
D’Olier Street?
A slight cock-up on the PP’s own website: “Short 15-20 videos ..”. The PP’s demo runs for, er, two minutes and appears to have been shot in a weird location, one with a massive echo!
“Over the years he has been arguably Ireland’s most consistent anti-fascist.” – Jimmy Sands.
Arguably he may over the years have been Ireland’s greatest exponent of the Paso Doble, but who is there to make the argument and who would care to be convinced in any case?
His dancing partner?
Rory
That kinda looks like a put down, but may not mean anything at all. Is that the ‘Rhetoric’ they used to teach in the ‘better’ public schools, or something like the puff of ink a squid ejects before jetting away?
It’s an interesting idea. The idea is to include a well known landmark in the video. I’m toying with potential ideas. The war memorial at Enniskillen is one. Several pubs spring to mind. A beach in Louth perhaps? The possibilities are endless and each representing somewhere that has, in a very real sense, been touched by Martin and his work. The particular concern for those forced into exile, as he puts it, will hopefully resonate with the Hegarty family. Heartwarming stuff.
Aquifer,
Harris is “arguably” anything that anyone cares to argue that he may be, anti-facist or champion ballroom dancer, it matters not except of course insofar as it would be true to say that, in the last fifty years anyway, ballroom dancing held a much greater grip on Irish public imagination than Fascism (and the costumes, for once, could be said to be prettier).
“it would be true to say that, in the last fifty years anyway, ballroom dancing held a much greater grip on Irish public imagination than Fascism”
Partitionist.
If only that were true.
“I’m toying with potential ideas.”
Martin isn’t brave enough to let folks post directly to the videos webpage. I suspect your ideas might not get past the censor.
I find that hard to believe. Whenever Harris is discussed, Martin’s supporters constantly stress their hatred of censorship.
Has the Devlin article been covered in any radio or TV discussion?
“Martin’s supporters constantly stress their hatred of censorship.”
Yes the double standards of the provies can be amusing at times.
I remember at Trinity some time in the 1980′s and David Irving the Nazi sympathising historian was invited to speak in a debate. The hall was blockaded by a horde of the usual hairy suspects, unfamiliar with the personal hygiene standards of normal people, clamouring to shut down the debate.
“No free speech for fascists!” they hollered.
Oddly enough the following at week a debate condemning Section 31 the self-same wannabe Guevara’s were hollering about getting rid of the most successful piece of legislation preventing Ireland’s own fascists getting access to free speech.
The double standards were laughable if not so serious.
Harry,
question, your comment concerning Trinity appears to be formed from the point of view of having been actually present at both events,
where you present?
‘His [Harris'] dancing partner?’
Stalin, wasn’t it, at one stage?
“where[sic] you present?”
Rather obviously yes, why do you ask?
Pundits really only have their reputation for getting it right.
Thats all that actually matters.
And the things that they got so spectacularly wrong means they have lost all credibility.
Without any credibility in reporting and analysing politics………they are now defaulting to a line which attempts to influence results.
Pretty pathetic. fitsy
You mean like,”Brits Out” ?
“Not an ounce.Not a bullet” ?
“Never,never,never,to a return to Stormont” ?
As you say,pretty pathetic indeed.
‘pretty pathetic indeed’
As was your point, Heinz. Or to be precise, what exactly WAS your point? What have those slogans got to do with anything remotely connected to Eoghan Harris, which was FJH’s subject – and the topic, in case you missed it.
But, as usual, we can rely on you to bring up a useless piece of whataboutery, even if it has nothing whatever to with the topic in hand.
As you said yourself- again, in case you missed it – ‘pretty pathetic indeed’.