The Independent TD Clare Daly caused a bit of a stir in the Dáil this week after she made some comments about the Obamas’ recent visit to Ireland. But we want to know exactly what she said that had Enda so pissed off.
Clare Daly. Where would we be without the Independent TD for North Dublin? Clare isn’t afraid to speak her mind, as everyone in Irish politics already knows, and this week she had a few questions for Enda regarding the Obamas’ visit to Ireland for the G8 summit and Enda certainly had a response for her – albeit, not the one she was looking for.
So what exactly was said? Well, Clare wanted to bring some balance to the discussion of the Obamas’ visit to Ireland when she asked the Taoiseach, “Is it not a reality that you have showcased us as a nation of pimps, prostituting ourselves in return for a pat on the head?
“It’s really hard to know which is worse, whether it’s the outpourings of the Obamas themselves or the sycophantic fawning over them by sections of the media and the political establishment.”
Clare also referred to Bono in her rant as ‘Mr Tax Exile himself’, which was actually pretty funny. You can check out everything that was said by Clare in the video below.
So why was she saying these fairly hurtful things about the visit from the US President and his family? Well, while most people look up to Obama as one of the world’s most powerful leaders who’s out to only do good for his country, Clare sees him as a hypocrite for preaching about peace in Northern Ireland while dropping bombs in the Middle East.
While some people might see where Clare was coming from, Enda most certainly didn’t. He branded her remarks as ‘disgraceful’ and said it was ‘beneath her’ to criticise Obama for ‘giving support for a fragile peace process in Northern Ireland, where over 3,000 people lost their lives over 30 years’.
There was a bit more arguing after that but it seemed like neither party really got their point across to the other. So it was just another day in Irish politics really…
