{"id":84296,"date":"2025-09-25T06:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/84296\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:35:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:35:10","slug":"handbag-at-the-dail-for-maria-steen-as-her-aras-run-comes-to-an-end-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/84296\/","title":{"rendered":"Handbag at the D\u00e1il for Maria Steen as her \u00c1ras run comes to an end \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freshly confirmed presidential<\/a> candidate Catherine Connolly<\/a> made a brief trip to the D\u00e1il<\/a> chamber to ask \u201ca specific question\u201d about an external review into spinal care in Temple Street hospital which began nearly two years ago and is still at phase one. <\/p>\n

She went into some detail, because there is \u201cdisquiet on the ground and people are asking for an independent inquiry\u201d. Could Jim O\u2019Callaghan<\/a>, standing in for the Taoiseach, give a date for the publication of this report and has the relevant Minister seen it yet? <\/p>\n

Jim, whose department is Justice, didn\u2019t know the answer but he undertook to ask the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, to give him the specific information she requested.<\/p>\n

As the sole sitting TD among three starters in the race for the presidency, Catherine is the only one who will be able to raise issues in the D\u00e1il during the campaign.<\/p>\n

This may or may not be to her advantage as proceedings in the Lower House will not be as minutely monitored as the hurry-scurries on the election trail in the next month or so. <\/p>\n

The contest began officially at midday with the close of nominations and an immediate outbreak of handbags at dawn, sorry, handbag at D\u00e1il, outside the gates of Leinster House.<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s a woman\u2019s right to choose how she spends her money and that\u2019s the way it should be<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Such is the fascination with this election, the press gallery inside was deserted during Leaders\u2019 Questions as journalists piled outside to hear what the Iona Institute\u2019s Maria Steen<\/a>, who failed to secure enough nominations from Oireachtas members to get on the ticket, had to say.<\/p>\n

Quite a lot, as it transpired, but this was after the event for the experienced conservative and Catholic values crusader. It was in marked contrast to a fairly non-existent campaign which only sparked into life over the past week. <\/p>\n

She was bitterly disappointed by the outcome. <\/p>\n

\u201cRarely has the political consensus seemed more oppressive or detached from the wishes and desires of the public,\u201d she declared, lamenting at length for the media. <\/p>\n

Although she was very grateful to the 18 \u201ctrue democrats\u201d, some of whom do not share her views, who agreed to sign her nomination papers so she could run.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Maria Steen protests being shut out of presidential race after nominations shortfallOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

So where did that put those parliamentarians who did not endorse her? Were they not exercising their democratic choice too?<\/p>\n

The discussion around the corridors was about the intensity of the campaign run by supporters of the South Dublin mother of five who clearly believed they could land the 20 nominees needed to get their woman across the line. <\/p>\n

But their steamroller tactics riled some non-aligned TDs and Senators who didn\u2019t take too kindly to being lectured on their commitment to democracy and who wouldn\u2019t be browbeaten into acquiescence.<\/p>\n

As the late, kindly Larry Gogan used to say when a contestant bombed during his Just a Minute Quiz: \u201cThe questions didn\u2019t suit you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe somebody should have taken Maria aside and gently told her: \u201cThe democracy didn\u2019t suit you today.\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t suit her last big group of supporters either. The lads from Independent Ireland, who waited and waited to declare their support for her, stipulating they would make their decision only if she was within sight of the winning post, were fairly sore about the outcome too.<\/p>\n

Party leader Michael Collins was on his feet in the D\u00e1il not an hour after the poignant scenes outside the gates calling for a change to the system of choosing candidates to contest the presidency. <\/p>\n

\"LeftLeft to right: Cork North-Central TD Kenneth O’Flynn, Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins, Maria Steen and Limerick TD Richard O’Donoghue at Leinster House on Tuesday. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

This strange episode left a sour taste on both sides of the argument. <\/p>\n

The angry response from supporters of Maria Steen was characterised by unfounded bleatings about the death of democracy. <\/p>\n

The unsuccessful contender dramatically declared: \u201cThe response from the public in recent days confirms the hunger that there is for an alternative candidate. Sadly, that hunger will now go unsatisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe if the potential candidate -who is a very impressive communicator and would undoubtedly have polled well \u2013 had put more work into a campaign she would have reaped the return. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t expect to win a marathon if you\u2019ve only started training a few weeks before the race,\u201d remarked a Government TD as the scenes outside the gates unfolded. <\/p>\n

But for all the drama and the crushed feelings, the most talked about story to emerge from Maria and her supporters falling short emerged on social media when she was doing her swansong. <\/p>\n

Wait, people who know these things asked. Is that a Herm\u00e8s bag? Not only that, but is it a Herm\u00e8s Kelly bag? <\/p>\n

Among those taking to social media to marvel at the appearance of a bone fide Kelly on the arm of mainstream mum Maria was drag artiste Pantibliss. <\/p>\n

The internet exploded. That bag is stratospherically expensive, gasped people. Prices north of \u20ac10,000 for similar models were being cited online. But it seems the replicas are also very good and can be picked up for a song in Turkey and Torremolinos so it was unfair on the part of all those who scoffed at her comment about people being \u201cdetached from the wishes and desires of the public\u201d.<\/p>\n

Handbags at D\u00e1il, though. Who\u2019d have thought that would be the big talking point?<\/p>\n

Whatever, it\u2019s a bag for life.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a woman\u2019s right to choose how she spends her money and that\u2019s the way it should be, Dior Gratias, as they say in BTs.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the posters went up on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Maria Steen, opponent of marriage equality and abortion, championed as a symbol of choiceOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

And far away in New York, the Taoiseach had to abandon his talk of what was happening in the United Nations to stress that Maria Steen\u2019s failure to secure a nomination was not anti-democratic. <\/p>\n

Independent candidate Connolly, still trying to do her D\u00e1il duty when conducting a campaign, talked outside about preserving the triple-lock on Irish neutrality and did a number of interviews. <\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s Jim Gavin was pressing the flesh in county Meath and he did two radio interviews where he stressed that he is all about positivity and \u201cthe threads that bind us together\u201d. <\/p>\n

Former government minister and Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys did the first election photo-op of the campaign. <\/p>\n

Headquarters sent out a tantalising notice: \u201cHeather Humphreys to hang campaign poster in Central Dublin\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sure you had to be there. <\/p>\n

The event happened, conveniently, at the end of Mount Street, up from the party offices. Heather arrived in one of the liveried campaign cars \u2013 a Hyundai Tucson in a sludgy shade of green.<\/p>\n

A yellow and blue stepladder was positioned at a lamp-post beside the Pepper Cannister Church. Heather plunged into the small crowd of handlers and hacks. A poster was produced and she headed for the ladder. <\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want a hand?\u201d inquired a nervous looking young staffer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo boddur!\u201d she cried, grabbing the rails. Martin Heydon, the Minister for Agriculture and Director of Elections, put a steadying foot on the bottom rung. He\u2019s a farmer and knows how to do these things. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo boddur!\u201d said Heather again, grabbing the poster. \u201cKeep her straight! Now. There we go.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was a photo call only, the notice stressed. But she answered some questions anyway. <\/p>\n

The former minister was asked if she was disappointed not to be facing off against Maria Steen.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t take the bait, but responded with a smile which put us in mind of that legendary quote from the planning tribunals about the moneybags developer who was asked if he would issue a receipt: \u201cWill I f*ck!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to being out and about\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

It was a brief photo call. Once the job was done, Heather climbed down the ladder and somebody took the poster away. <\/p>\n

Back in Leinster House, the talk returned to Herm\u00e8s bags. Did you know that you can\u2019t just buy one? And that there are quota and non-quota bags and starter bags and list systems and even then you might have to take whatever bag which could cost tens of thousands is offered. <\/p>\n

Not very democratic.<\/p>\n

No boddur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Freshly confirmed presidential candidate Catherine Connolly made a brief trip to the D\u00e1il chamber to ask \u201ca specific…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,1921,4767,18,555,19,17,19487,30253,55915,4766],"class_list":{"0":"post-84296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-catherine-connolly","10":"tag-dail-eireann","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-heather-humphreys","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jim-gavin","16":"tag-maria-steen","17":"tag-miriam-lord","18":"tag-oireachtas"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}