RTE George Chickens Outs

16th Feb 2010

RTE George Chickens Out

Now that the dust has settled and George the former Fine Gael TD is back in the cosy confines of the anti-Cork broadcaster it's worth reflecting on the Dubliner's mesmerising lack of perseverance in trying to achieve change.

Like Charlie Bird, this chicken couldn't handle life outside RTE

In case you missed it George chickened out of politics and his seat with Fine Gael - virtually admitting he didn't have the balls for anything outside pontificating from his RTE pulpit. As he found out the real-world is a complicated place and achieving change is tough and takes time.

Coping out less than the length of a pregnancy since his much anticipated election (two months of which were holidays) the journalist has let down anyone who was inspired by the furore surrounding his election especially those standing in cold dole queues looking for glimmers of hope.

There are few in Irish public life who have talked-the-talk but so spectacularly failed to walk-the-walk when presented with the opportunity to do so.

Slow moving politicking is not confined to elected representatives. Our history is littered with worthy causes that required a brave fight but these realities seem to be lost on this well paid RTE employee.

Without Michael Collins the Union Jack would be still flying over Leinster House. He didn't wince when he met ferocious military resistance or political inertia. In today's parlance: he had balls and got the job done to the best of his ability.

What if Donal Óg Cusack and the Cork footballers and hurlers gave up after meeting so much resistance at the Cork County Board? The relatively minor and entirely reasonable agenda they set out has taken almost the length of their entire playing careers to achieve.

Look at what the loyal and admirable members of FORAS have been through with Cork City FC in the last few years particularly the farce of 2009. It has taken them a lot longer than eight months to get anywhere near having a stake in the club and they've still got their work cut out for them. Unlike that journalist in Dublin these righteous Corkonians won't be giving up anytime soon.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and there are countless examples around Cork city and county of citizens who fight for what they believe in. It might be resisting a landfill site in their back garden or an incinerator in their front gardens, preventing the closure of hospitals, lobbying for better roads, battling for a new school, fighting for minority rights and so on.

Their stories may not attract the glamour of broadsheet headlines or the vain glare of George's colleagues at RTE but these battles are often equally as important to ordinary citizens themselves.

The difference between the real Lee and Georgie is that only one is still full of shit these days.

This guy up in Dublin is the type of 'lads we are going to lose' player who's like poison in a half-time dressing room when you're seven points down. The yellow-bellied striker who cries out because he's not getting perfectly weighted crosses. The hurler who blames his stick but won't entertain a new one because he knows the real truth about his own limitations.

Shortly, the Cork-Swansea ferry will begin traversing the Irish Sea to help lift the country out of recession. A small group of Cork business people who got this off the ground tower above the likes of the former Fine Gael TD with their steely determination. They'll create jobs, trade and bring in tourists. Far more than that RTE pussy will ever do for his country.

For all these highly motivated Corkonians the struggle is tough but that usually means that the goals are worthwhile.

Imagine the apathy and inertia they faced when they set about their task. Think of all the people who shook their heads when they pleaded for support or funding. All the begrudgers who told them to pipe down and the weak-at-heart who said it wasn't worth the effort.

Without the built-in perseverance to stick with the fight that thankfully seems part of the Corkonian DNA, the Rebel County would not be the beneficiary of such fantastic achievements by its active citizens.

Despite the Dubliner's decision to roll over and give up on politics us Corkonians must resist the temptation to do the same with our own battles no matter how big or small in these testing times.

So whether it's trying to dislodge Kilkenny or Kerry from their thrones, getting a pothole filled, a toxic dump emptied or finding a job in rising unemployment the temptation to embrace failure must be ignored like forthcoming economic sermons on the Six O'Clock News.

Rebels Abú.

* We refuse to use the journalist's surname as a mark of respect to our dearest river of the same name. Admittedly both are alike in that they are very watery in nature but at least our one keeps on flowing regardless of how many trolleys, metaphorical or otherwise, you throw at it (or into it). Extreme Corkonians may attempt to have the former TD's surname changed but knowing the courts in Dublin their campaign may Lee'd to failure.