Friday, February 15, 2008

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1. To be honest I don’t see the Bertiespeak.

   FG TD says that there isn’t decent broadband in Cavan and Bertie says he is talking about the Republic of Ireland (as a whole) and not Cavan.

   As Bob Geldof would say, Is that it?

   Posted by  on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:30 PM

2. “says he is talking about the Republic of Ireland (as a whole)”

   That’s a VERY generous assumption to make. Southerners in general and Bertie especially isn’t prone to calling the state of which he is in charge “the Republic of Ireland” unless he’s trying to distinguish it from Northern Ireland, certainly not twice in quick succession, and I’m sure he would have just said “Ireland” or “Ireland as a whole” if that’s what he had meant.

   Posted by beano on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:41 PM

3. or even “the country as a whole”.  All of these would be more natural.

   Posted by beano on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:41 PM

4. It’s hard to imagine Bertie waving away concerns specific to Dublin with similar syntax, but George’s interpretation is quite possible.

   Quite a lively discussion of this at Damien Mulley’s site, as well:

   http://www.mulley.net/2008/02/09/video-of-bertie-ahern-not-knowing-where-cavan-is/

   Posted by  on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:52 PM

5. That’s why it struck me as Bertiespeak… multiple interpretations possible… Also, is the TD for Cavan Monaghan no supposed to consider a national problem in light of his own constitutents?

   Tardy broadband roll out is surely one of the worst failures in FF’s otherwise decent performance in government.

   Posted by Mick Fealty on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:57 PM

6. beano,
   Bertie said:

   “We are talking about the Republic of Ireland, let’s not get down to...(interruption from the floor from the FG TD Seymour Crawford I think)..We will talk about Cavan another day.”

   Hardly a Bertiespeak in my view but if you see it as meaning that Bertie thought Cavan was over the border, fair enough but seeing as Bertie was saying that the Oireachtas could talk about County Cavan another day, I doubt it.

   Posted by  on Feb 15, 2008 @ 04:59 PM

7. I still think it was a mistake George. On the second occasion where Bertie refers to the Republic of Ireland he does seem to emphasise the word Republic.

   Posted by beano on Feb 15, 2008 @ 05:07 PM

8. Perhaps Seymour is wishing for a (re)united Ulster.

   Broadband would be provided.

   Posted by  on Feb 16, 2008 @ 12:52 AM

9. Keep up the good work Bertie, a bit of education down there wouldn’t go a miss.

   Posted by  on Feb 17, 2008 @ 02:54 PM
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