The Pope’s children are 30. As 2009 dawns it will be 30 years since the Pope went around the Racecourse in Ballybrit and told the young people of Ireland that he loved them. But the young people at Ballybrit were not the Pope’s children. The young people of Ballybrit in 1979 are anything from 45 to 55 now. They were well able to cheer and clap and sing loudly in 1979. The Pope’s children are a different generation.
The Pope’s children were the first Irish generation to grow up with a good deal of money around them. They were the generation born in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Economist David McWilliams baptised that generation as “the Pope’s children”. He linked them to the euphoria that surrounded Pope John Paul’s visit to Ireland. They romped into their teenage years as the Celtic Tiger began to romp around Ireland. Work and money became more plentiful. County and city councils that were long trying to scrounge a few euro together to fix potholes — including our own — began to move into areas like heritage and sport. They were the best of times and the bar was set close to the sky. Even in places like the west of Ireland, which has always lagged behind economically in relation to the east of Ireland, cars were bought at a rate that was never seen before as the 21st century dawned. So what was another year? It meant more good times.
But Ballybrit told a different story in 2008. The Galway Races slowed down. There were fewer people present and fewer people betting. The Pope’s children could no longer bet on the future. In some ways, the party was over. And somewhere up the road from the Racecourse Noel Grealish TD was looking at a different political racecourse as well. The PD party was over too.
A big year for Noel Grealish?
Before he ever went into politics Noel Grealish had become a successful businessman, providing jobs on the ground for people in Galway. Deputy Grealish is in the glass industry and his offices and business are located close to the racecourse. But for much of the past year he was walking on glass — politically. And as the year ends and county council elections loom in 2009 Dessie O’Malley and Bobby Molloy’s “political children” have no party left. In Galway West they are running without a party; they are independent. Whether or not Noel Grealish should have gone to Fianna Fáil shortly after the General Election of 2007 is a debatable point. All the indications are that he is friendly on both a personal and political basis with Fianna Fáil people at a high level. Minister Éamon Ó Cuív virtually invited him into the Fianna Fáil party… and if Ó Cuív wants you in Fianna Fáil in Galway West nobody will keep you out.
The emergency Budget in October and the reaction to it — there was never going to be a good reaction anyhow — came at an awkward time for Noel Grealish. Joining Fianna Fáil as they slumped in the polls would not look like a good idea, politically. But on the other hand, by staying on the sidelines, Noel Grealish is giving space and ammunition to other prospective candidates in Fianna Fáil who are building their own bases for the next General Election. However Deputy Grealish can take some “positives” from the recent skirmishing insofar as none of the Progressive Democrat councillors in the Galway city joined Fine Gael.
Heavyweights were sent down from Fine Gael party headquarters in Dublin to try to recruit PD councillors such as Terry O’Flaherty and Donal Lyons. Had Fine Gael done that it would have been a massive boost both locally and nationally — and it would, equally, have been a blow to Fianna Fáil at a bad time for them. Fianna Fáil is known to be grateful to Grealish for his diplomacy and political manoeuvres in this case. But 2009 looms and it’s not just another year for Noel Grealish. And his decision as to what course of action he will follow — whether it will be Independent or Fianna Fáil — will have a lot of bearing on Dáil seats and on politics in Galway West in the future. There will be a lot of interest in how Noel Grealish runs… and it’s worth a bet at Ballybrit that he will run for Fianna Fáil.
Hurling our spirits forward
No doubt Paul Hession from Athenry will run well in 2009. This young man is a great sprinter and from the generation of the “Pope’s children”. He brought pride to the fields of Athenry and to all of Galway through his exploits in the Beijing Olympics. His sights are on the sky without a doubt. He would want to be an Olympic and World Sprint Champion. In 2008 he was described as the fastest white man on earth. It is a big title. But to go a step further he has to match the power of black athletes on the world stage. It is as difficult a task as that undertaken by John McIntyre at the end of 2008 — building a Galway hurling team that could beat Kilkenny. It has taken a long time to do it so what’s another year? It would be a year too long for many of the Pope’s children who remain in the Galway panel. For 2009 could be the year that the Pope’s children could have challenges not seen before hurled at them in every aspect of life.
And if there is some suggestion that the Pope’s children were a pampered lot who could not face the changing winds of hurling and the downturns and depressions in the economy — then 2009 could be the year when they need to show their timbre and their mettle. They could well do that.
