Whingers, welcomes and wishful thinkers

TOUR DE FORCE Broadcaster Vincent Browne was in the TF Royal Theatre in Castlebar last night for the final and 40th People’s Debate on TV3, where he quizzed 14 of Mayo’s election candidates ahead of Friday’s General Election. Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Edwin McGreal

The final countdown to Friday’s General Election got underway in style last night in the Royal Theatre in Castlebar with the final show of The People’s Debate with Vincent Browne.
A huge crowd – Vincent Browne told those present it was 1,100 and the biggest crowd in the series – crammed into the Royal Theatre as did 14 of the 16 candidates.
Conspicuous by their absence were the two highest ranking politicians in Mayo – Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister of State Michael Ring.
And Browne made quite a play on the former’s absence. The Taoiseach has refused to take part in any interview with Browne since the presenter suggested Kenny go into a room with whiskey and a gun. The official reason given for his absence was a live appearance on the Six One News in Dublin, but everyone knew he would not appear.
Vincent Browne walked onto the set to a loud round of applause. He looked around in mock bemusement and asked ‘is Enda Kenny here?’.
He added that the large crowd meant ‘there’s only one person missing from Castlebar here’. But Vincent didn’t have it quite his own way. When he asked what issues people had one man said ‘objective reporting of this programme’ was important, claiming Vincent Browne was ‘totally biased’ in his presenting. Browne replied that his programme was not an election issue.
Browne later took Fine Gael supporter Paddy Colleran from Charlestown to task for not declaring at the outset his party affiliation when Colleran went to ask a question.
Colleran shot back ‘I don’t know how you still have your job for what you said to a leader of a parliamentary party’. Browne later tried to call time on Colleran’s questions, to which Colleran replied ‘I know I’m not over my time and I know I’ve annoyed you’ to a mixed response from the crowd.
Browne twice gave credit to Michelle Mulherin for being the only one of the three Fine Gael TDs to turn up at the debate, while the audience, made up of all political hues, were remarkably respectful to each candidate.
Anyone planning on shouting down a candidate was guilty of wishful thinking. Like an old schoolmaster, Browne laid down the ground rules at the start and kept the large and diverse crowd in line during the first half of the show before print deadlines forced The Mayo News to depart.
Browne mixed a firm hand with a good dollop of wit and sometimes when he had the crowds rolling in the aisles, you’d swear it was a stand-up comedy show that was on in the Royal Theatre.
After being welcomed to Castlebar by the first two candidates to speak, Browne asked: ‘Can we just take it that I’m welcome to Mayo?’.
That request was ignored and most other candidates went out of their way to welcome him while more took the chance to latch onto Enda Kenny’s ‘whingers’ comment.
While Browne fired plenty of scuds at Fine Gael, Fianna FΡil didn’t escape his barbed tongue either.
“Good to see Fianna FΡil’s two supporters turned up,” he told Dara Calleary to much laughter in the crowd.
By and large most candidates escaped unscathed. Not all of them will be so lucky in the same venue this weekend.