Justice for the Dublin North Central One

Another brave FF warrior crucified on the cross of political correctness by a cruel, cynical and manipulative media with a sinister agenda, Ivor Callely has finally fallen on his sword, joining the burgeoning ranks in the Great Pantheon of Fianna Fail Martyrs.

He joins illustrious colleagues such as Charlie Haughey, Ray Burke, Liam Lawlor, Pee & Beverly Flynn, Denis “Ansbacher” Foley, Sean Doherty and, of course, the grandaddy of them all, Eamon De Valera.

The curse of the Fianna Fail culture goes all the way back to the founding father of the party. In 1931 when De Valera raised capital in the USA to set up The Irish Press, he devised a share structure which gave him total control over the assets of the newspaper despite the fact that his own investment in the paper was nominal.

Although the newspaper ceased publication in 1995, the current Eamon de Valera, grandson of the founder, still draws 6-figure annual directors fees.

The Long Fellow wasn’t just a cute political hoor, he could also have given finance lessons to Eddie “Rip-off” Hobbs. And that "cute-hoorism" continues to be the very life-blood of Fianna Fail.

When Ivor considers the largesse showered on his former leader Charlie Haughey, he may rightly feel aggrieved to get screwed for a miserable couple of grand.