In this penultimate episode of 2024 I look at 3 recent domestic developments: the first day of the new Dáil, Israel closing its Irish embassy and the Soc Dem ex TD saga and suggest that each has an element of the paradoxical about it... and that paradoxes are (to cite Sr Gertrude via Muriel Spark) is something we must live with.…

As the two main parties prepare for coalition talks, I offer Fianna Fáil some thoughts on how that government should be structured: Rotating Taoiseach 3 years FF + 2 years FG 15 Cabinet places split 8 to 7 FF to retain Finance (merged with D/Per) for 5 years FF takes Justice F/T Defence Minister

This is not so much a podcast, but just a rebroadcast of my comments on Times Radio (UK) from early this morning. Though based on the Exit poll which may have understated FF and overstated SF, the broad points remain correct. It has been my view from the start of the campaign that voters did not feel there was a viable alternative on offer... and t…

After two polls showing Fine Gael in a steady decline has the three horse race become a two horse one with Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin competing fiercely for first place? I discuss this with former Sinn Féin MLA for Lagan Valley, Paul Butler, and get his perspective on the final few days.

Even before the Kanturk fiasco it looked like Fine Gael's highly personalised campaign, built around its leader was in trouble. Harris has just had his Gordon Brown 2010 moment... only this one is much, much worse. Can FG slide back even further? Is it now at risk of coming 3rd?

With just one week to go, I chat with Dr David McCann of the University of Ulster about government formation once the election is over. He suggests that 2.5 / 3 party governments will be the norm from here onwards. I suggest that Sinn Féin should be driving a wedge between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rather than pushing the FFG line.…

With 8 days to geo I chat with old friend and self confessed "liberal hardline centrist" Jason O'Mahony about how he thins the election campaign has gone, so far. We discuss the part that independents may play in government formation and conclude that (counter intuitively) more independents will mean less influence.…

With 10 days to go to polling day... I look at last night's RTÉ Upfront 10 podium leaders debate and conclude... there is no shortage of opposition parties... what we don't have is any alternative government.

Just under two weeks to go and any polling shifts are well within the margins of error. The fact that voters may not have switched on to the campaign is a not a permission slip for parties to forget the lessons of the global crash and indulge in auction politics.

In this episode I am joined by Stephen Spillane of the Green party. He is a long serving political activist who knows and well understands the Cork political scene. We do a tour of the 5 Cork constituencies and Stephen offers his insights on what to watch out for, in each. Check out his Cork GE2024 blog…

With 15 days to go… what do we know now that we didn't know before it started… well... not a lot. One of the few things I think we can say for sure is that the voters are not yet fully engaged.

In my second GE2024 podcast I look at how the Soc Dem and Labour party leaders fared in their two media outgoings and observe that Paschal Donohoe uncharacteristically rose to the bait at the housing debate on RTÉ's Upfront with Katie Hannon.

The first of my (almost) daily series of short GE2024 podcasts looking at how the Irish general election campaign is playing out. If well begun is half done... then Fine Gael's campaign isn't even 5% done.

The morning after an appalling night before, I reflect on lessons from Trump's big win. I specifically look at his clear messaging that posed him as the voter's ally. I only saw his "Kamala is for They/Them. President Trump is for you" messaging today. It's crisp, clear and direct and speaks to concerns middle America has about the country's direct…

These are my thoughts as we wait for the Irish general election to be called next week. TL;DR: I worry that many of the available options won’t resonate with voters. If I were in a different constituency I might examine my ballot paper and think: “None of the above” ...and I've voted Fianna Fáil 1, 2 and 3 at almost every election, ever. Finally, h…

Though much of the political process speculation will focus on whether the election will be held in February 2025 or November 2024, I think it should instead look at why so many centrist and MoTR voters look at SF, FG and FF and say... none of the above.

This is my 7th annual Summer political reading list. Most of the books on this year’s list have been published within the past 12-18 months. All cover broadly political topics, or are (imho) of interest to those with an interest in politics, be it Irish, European, American or global. The choices are mine. I have read some, not all, but all are of i…

In this episode I look at how pleased Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are pleased by each securing 23% of the votes of those who showed up… but point out that this is not necessarily a sign of greater things to come. That said, Fianna Fáil should celebrate its cohort of new Cllrs. See column on which this podcast is based.…

I look my elections checklist and see how the results stack up against it. I see the predictions I got right (a few) and the ones I got wrong... and why. I also comment on the current petulant row over newspaper polling. There will be another podcast soon, looking at the Fianna Fáil Local and European results in more detail.…

In this (short) episode I offer my checklist of what to watch out for as the ballot boxes are opened this week-end: 1. Watch the Limerick Mayoral Result 2. Compare party results with GE2020, not LE2019 3. The SF vote total is important, but don't allow FF or FG to use that to deflect from their results 4. See who emerges as the biggest party or fac…

There are no election predictions in this podcast as many voters have yet to decide - instead I focus on what to watch out for as we enter the last week of campaigning. I look at how party leaders will try to manage expectations, especially around seat losses and failed gains... but above all I stress that this is NOT a mid term election - the next…

In this episode I return to a topic I have discussed many times - Irish Defence. Though there are some signs that things may be about to improve, the pace is no where near fast enough as the Minister responsible is more pre-occupied with positioning and messaging, than on tackling the real problems. There is also an article to accompany this podcas…

In this episode I analyze and examine the recent Árd Fheis speeches of Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD and [now] Taoiseach Simon Harris TD... and am not overly impressed by either, as pieces of political communications. There is a text version to accompany this podcast

In this episode I ask why does the nation's business have to go on hold for another 12 days while Fine Gael struggles with who/what it stand for? I also comment briefly on the circumstances of the resignation of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson as DUP leader. Read the column on which this podcast is largely based.…

Leo Varadkar's resignation as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader has thrown Irish politics into turmoil... things will not just continue as they were... and the other government coalition parties need to grasp this reality... fast. This podcast is based on this recent column

Having critiqued the Tánaiste's party leader speech last week, I now turn my sights on the Sinn Féin leaders speech. As a piece of writing, a piece of political communications, Mary Lou McDonald's speech was far better than those of the Taoiseach or Tánaiste... but style is one thing, substance is another. While the core message was change... how t…

In this episode I critique An Tánaiste Micheál Martin's 2023 Árd Fheis speech as a speech, a performance, and as a piece of political communication and it scores a "must do better" on all three criteria. You can read the original column on which this podcast is based: here

This episode is about the various "tells" from government parties which point to the binary narrative that Leo Varadkar plans to apply to the next election. There is a blogpost to accompany this podcast, it will be available later today.

A little later than planned... here is my Summer 2023 political reading list (plus a short supplemental list). The 8 books on my core list look at Irish, EU and global politics. The two lists (core and alternatives) contain several biographies as well as polemics on key issues. You can read the accompanying blogpost at: https://derekmooney.ie/2023/…

In this episode I consider Sinn Féin's performance in the opinion polls over the past year and conclude that while it will be the biggest single party in the next Dáil, I believe the most likely outcome of that election will be another election. This podcast is based on this recent column: https://derekmooney.ie/2023/07/17/is-sinn-fein-flatlining-f…

This impromptu (i.e. unscripted) podcast is my response to the controversy prompted by today's Sunday Business Post interview by President Michael D Higgins. This is not intended as a "hot take" or an effort to stoke the flames. I genuinely believe both the President and the Tánaiste are in the wrong - and that the focus of both should be on implem…

In this episode I take the latest Irish Times/ Ipsos opinion poll as my starting point. I look at the numbers and then discuss the likelihood that the next Dáil will have 18 extra TDs... and wonder how many will be FF or FG-ers... based on the poll and the behaviour of Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach, I doubt that many will. There will be a written artic…

Welcome to my first podcast in several weeks, in this episode I consider the penchant of both main parties in government to pursue policies that make it difficult for their supporters to stick with them... This podcast is based on my recent column:

While it may be fleeting, the SocDems poll bounce is a reminder that Fianna Fáil’s persistently poor poll ratings since 2019 have not happened despite Micheal Martin, they are a direct consequence of decisions he made as leader. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2023/03/06/because-leadership-matters-socdems-poll-b…

In my first podcast of 2023 (apologies for the delay) I look back at the first few weeks of the Donohoe #Postergate saga and explore how Fine Gael has taken the old political dictum: when you are explaining, you are losing, and turned it on its head. Though they may feel it is working in the short-term… I believe that in the longer term, it will no…

In this podcast episode I discuss the principal factors a party leader should consider when contemplating a mid-term reshuffle. I manage - almost - to refrain from engaging in speculation about who may be in or out next Saturday… or next week when the junior ministries are announced. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney…

Small wonder Fine Gael would rather have some pie-in-the-sky discussion on the triple lock than discuss the realities of their political neglect of defence. It’s a political three card trick from the party that brought us the triple lock, treble flip-flop. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/11/25/fine-gaels-tr…

In this episode I draw together a range of recent political moves and manoeuvres in an attempt to find a path back to viability for Fianna Fáil. It's a struggle... as the party's problems date back to 2018 and beyond. It is just possible... but it will requires new leadership from Fianna Fáil and a serious drive to reconnect with its lost working c…

In this episode I take “compare and contrast” look at the recent party leader speeches of Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon MSP and An Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheal Martin, T.D. - and conclude that Sturgeon comes out much better. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/10/18/a-ti…

My observations and comments on the lead story in last week’s Belfast Telegraph which says that the three year long political partnership between the SDLP and Fianna Fáil has come to an end.

I am pleased present tis year's Summer Political reading list - my sixth one since 2017. This episode is also available as a written blog with links to all the books mentioned: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/07/25/derek-mooneys-summer-2022-political-reading-list/

This episode is based on two recent blog posts. Both addressed ongoing issues in Fianna Fáil, while one looked at the plans to increase defence investment and the other looks at the history of Programme for Government reviews and concludes that they are a good thing: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/07/15/fianna-fail-looks-defenceless-in-government-while…

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/06/23/heres-an-appalling-vista-a-politics-dominated-by-sinn-fein-and-fine-gael/

If you haven't already checked out the Here's How podcast, then listen to this highly rated episode from a few years back and check out the series at https://blog.hereshow.ie/ or searchs for "Here's How" on your favourite Podcast host.

In this episode I revisit the three Fianna Fáil truths which I set out exactly two years ago (in June 2020). This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/06/14/goodbye-to-broadsheet-and-hello-to-cuckoo-clocks-and-the-3-fianna-fail-truths-i-set-out-2-years-ago/

Dublin faces a Catch-22: a city infrastructure that is creaking at the seams because it cannot serve the needs of those who depend on it, but which cannot be expanded because the labour needed to rebuild that infrastructure cannot be found as the wages cannot reasonably cover the cost of living in or around this Dublin. This episode is also availab…

In this episode I again make the point that the government is not addressing the Irish housing crisis at the scale (or speed) required to stop housing being an election issue at the next general election in 2024. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/05/26/happy-the-opposition-when-a-government-cannot-effectively…

This episode looks at the May 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election results. It is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/05/11/ni-assembly-result-was-historic-just-not-era-changing/

In this podcast I look at the problem of random vicious attacks and anti-social behaviour in Dublin city centre. It is just one of an increasing number of problems which - combined - are detrimentally affecting the quality of life of people who live and work in Dublin city. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/0…

This podcast was recorded two weeks before polling in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://derekmooney.ie/2022/04/21/dup-is-down-but-dont-count-it-out-just-yet/