Who exactly is Eamon Gilmore ? The Man and the Politics

[Andrew49]

Gilmore is the guy walking in Enda's shadow. Alison O'Connor on #vinb last night (15 Feb) opined that the closing of the Vatican embassy here was naught to do with the nuncio's non-cooperation into official inquiries but was all to do with Gilmore trying to appear as macho as Enda Kenny!

[MediaBite]

Interesting comment from Garrett on the Anglo capers in that Belfast Telegraph quoting of the US wikileaks embassy cables release..

'Mr Garrett is said to have advised embassy officials in March 2009 that he believed the then government would not fall immediately, despite the banking collapse. "Garrett believes that in the absence of a 'smoking gun' tying a government minister to the improprieties at Anglo, the status quo will hold," a cable from the time stated.'

'The status quo will hold'... and in the 'absence of a smoking gun tying a government Minister to improprieties at Anglo'... does that mean Garrett has any information that a government minister was tied to those improprieties at Anglo?

It is a peculiar wording which would indicate that what concerned Garrett was the smoking gun bit and he chose not to report that there were no known ties ... just the absence of a 'smoking gun'.

Interesting.

On the subject of the OP Gilmore is just the American Ambassador's beeyatch if the wikileaks reporting of him briefing the US ambassador about there being another run at the Lisbon referendum within weeks of standing in the Dail and giving his version of Cowen's 'the people have spoken' rubbish just after Lisbon 1. We know he was being less than honest with his optics in the Dail but the wikileaks showed just what the Irish Foreign Ministry's attitude to the US is- abject to say the least.

Can you imagine the storm if he'd been found to have been around at the Chinese embassy giving the inside nod to their Ambassador?

These are key questions. Frank Connolly was the (only?) journalist who quizzed the then government about possible links to Anglo etc. As is well known, Lenihan and others refused to answer. The same question should be put to the current government parties.

[riposte]

I don't know who Gilmore is or who he represents .... but I do know that the Labour Party will jettision him before the next election.

Being so obviously duplicitous is bad enough ......but getting on the wrong side of every issue is a black hole that Quinn and Rabbitt never fell into.

[C. Flower]

A year on....

Last week saw the first anniversary of the Eamon Gilmore scandal. It caused a brief stir this time last year, until the political journalists decided that stability demands that we brush such embarrassing stuff under the carpet. (In recent times, the country, the economy, the currency and the EU have all been destabilised, as a direct result of policies said to be aimed at creating stability.)

It would be obnoxious to raise the Gilmore scandal on the anniversary, wouldn't it? So, let's do so.

Here's the question: did Eamon Gilmore deliberately deceive the citizenry by pretending to hold one position, while secretly informing the US embassy that his real position was the reverse? Or, did someone in the US embassy create a false paper trail in order to undermine the leader of the Labour Party?

Briefly -- when the Lisbon Treaty was first rejected, Gilmore said there must be no second referendum. After a while, he claimed there was sufficient change to justify another referendum. Later, Wikileaks published a memo in which the US ambassador reported to the State Department. It said that Gilmore secretly told the embassy, five days after vigorously rejecting another Lisbon vote, that he wanted a second referendum. But it was "politically necessary" that he say the opposite publicly.

Gilmore denied all this. The media mostly ignored the scandal. Hardly anyone in the Labour Party seemed to care. If the Tanaiste is right, someone -- perhaps the CIA -- forged the memo, knowing that a later leak would undermine Gilmore. Who knows, perhaps the whole Wikileaks phenomenon was a CIA plot to get Gilmore.

Does no one in the Labour Party care about whether they have A) an untrustworthy leader, or B) an honest leader under foul attack from a foreign power?

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...n-3119592.html

[C. Flower]

Mark Garrett, Gilmore's adviser, is almost as interesting as Gilmore himself, and also reports to the US Embassy.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...-16006492.html

Just a reminder -

One cable details how Mr McDowell predicted in February 2009 the government would have to continue recapitalising the banks. However, he said opposition parties were not going to "cause a fuss over the issue" at the time "because of the fragility of the economy".

Embassy officials sought out Mr McDowell again ahead of the April 2009 budget for details of what Fine Gael would do if in government. According to a cable, Mr McDowell said Fine Gael recommended raising taxes for higher earners and cutting public-sector staff and pay levels.

Mr McDowell expressed the view that the Government had little choice but to cut social welfare spending.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ne...#ixzz1w4dLtiD4

[C. Flower]

Gilmore was just challenged on RTE Morning Ireland on his alleged Referendum remark to the US Embassy and repeatedly said "I never said it" "I was never in with the US Ambassador on this"

Is this the first time he has issued this denial ?

It said that Gilmore secretly told the embassy, five days after vigorously rejecting another Lisbon vote, that he wanted a second referendum.

If true, is it possible that it was a bugged conversation, or a report by someone close to Gilmore rather than a direct report ?

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...e-2662663.html

[DCon]

Kerrigan, at the weekend, said Gilmore has denied this before.

Briefly -- when the Lisbon Treaty was first rejected, Gilmore said there must be no second referendum. After a while, he claimed there was sufficient change to justify another referendum. Later, Wikileaks published a memo in which the US ambassador reported to the State Department. It said that Gilmore secretly told the embassy, five days after vigorously rejecting another Lisbon vote, that he wanted a second referendum. But it was "politically necessary" that he say the opposite publicly.

Gilmore denied all this. The media mostly ignored the scandal. Hardly anyone in the Labour Party seemed to care. If the Tanaiste is right, someone -- perhaps the CIA -- forged the memo, knowing that a later leak would undermine Gilmore. Who knows, perhaps the whole Wikileaks phenomenon was a CIA plot to get Gilmore.

Does no one in the Labour Party care about whether they have A) an untrustworthy leader, or B) an honest leader under foul attack from a foreign power?

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...n-3119592.html

[C. Flower]

Kerrigan, at the weekend, said Gilmore has denied this before.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...n-3119592.html

Thanks.

Perhaps he denied it in the Daíl. It would be good to find his words.

A lot of the cables contain trashy information. It may well not be true - I wouldn't place reliance on the State Department for accuracy - or else not the result of a direct contact with the Embassy.

[DCon]

Thanks.

Perhaps he denied it in the Daíl. It would be good to find his words.

A lot of the cables contain trashy information. It may well not be true - I wouldn't place reliance on the State Department for accuracy - or else not the result of a direct contact with the Embassy.

I can find nothing on kildarestreet.com

His quote below is typical Gilmore. Avoiding the question and stating what is already known.

Asked yesterday if he was embarrassed by the WikiLeaks revelation of his views, he said the second Lisbon referendum was a “different proposition” from the first. “It was always the case that we could not put the same proposition a second time to the Irish people and of course the same proposition wasn’t put a second time to the Irish people. What was put to the Irish people in the second referendum was a different, if you like renegotiated proposition.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...298260141.html

[C. Flower]

I can find nothing on kildarestreet.com

His quote below is typical Gilmore. Avoiding the question and stating what is already known.



http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...298260141.html

Look - thoroughly gone into here.

Looking less good for Gilmore.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...e-2817724.html

There's an easy way out of this. The Taoiseach, or anyone else in high office who cares about the credibility of the Government, could ensure that something along the following lines is arranged: that Mr Gilmore formally refute the cable's contents, in the Dail; that he outline in the Dail any and all contacts he has had with US diplomats, or anyone connected to them, and the substance of those contacts; specifically, that he provides the Dail with the names of any US diplomat with whom he discussed the Lisbon Treaty, if he ever did; that the US ambassador be called in and asked to explain why damaging remarks were falsely attributed to a senior Irish politician and transmitted to the Secretary of State, and by whom -- if that is the case; that the Government formally require the US State Department to contact anyone who received the cable (it seems to have been passed to US diplomats across Europe), to inform them that the Irish deputy prime minister was traduced, and to withdraw those damaging remarks.

On the other hand, Mr Gilmore's colleagues may not believe his version of the controversy, as told by Mr Stagg. If that is the case, their silence will speak for itself.

[C. Flower]

The more I think about this, the less convinced I am in E G's "denial"

I don't think it was said in the cable that he had spoken to the Ambassador.

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...n-3124561.html

[DCon]

He's the Robbie Keane of politics

[C. Flower]

Eamon Gilmore has spoken for Ireland today (after his trip to New York) and told the UN that Ireland backs more action and sanctions against the Assad regime.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...breaking1.html

I would love to know who or what prompted him to say that.

Not so long since he was announcing to the world that Ahmadinejad's government is working on a nuclear bomb - no-one else seemed to have that information, only our Eamon.

In fairness, he also called for a settlement between Palestine and Israel on the basis of the 67 borders and an end to building illegal settlements.

[Saoirse go Deo]

Why no sanctions against Israel?

Why hasn't Ireland recognized Palestine?

Months and months ago in an email exchange a labour deputy told me that "back channels" were being worked with regards to this and that movement could be expected "soon". Nada.

[C. Flower]

Interesting interview with Gilmore by a student on the Washington Programme.

http://wiprogram.org/2012/06/19/feat...on-gilmore-td/

Doesn't want to rejoin the Commonwealth, but...