Senator Dr Liam Twomey, Brian Lenihan and Beal na mBlath

Senator Dr Liam Twomey from Cork but residing in Wexford is unhappy that Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan Jr is addressing the Beal na mBlath Michael Collins Commemoration. Things change everywhere including in Ireland. The Irish Times reports his comments.

“I’m against the idea of a Fianna Fáil Minister addressing a Béal na mBláth event for Michael Collins. Béal na mBláth is almost the soul of Fine Gael. It’s recognising the sacrifice Michael Collins made for Ireland. It’s the heartland of what Fine Gael stands for,” Dr Twomey said.

“Nothing personal against Brian Lenihan; it’s just what he stands for. He’s a Fianna Fáil Government Minister. I do actually feel quite put out by the fact that a Fianna Fáil Minister is doing the Béal na mBláth ceremony.”

Collins was minister for finance in the first government after the Treaty
was signed and the annual ceremony commemorates his death following an ambush in Béal na mBláth in 1922. Dr Twomey said he grew up “only two parishes away” from Collins’s birthplace at Sam’s Cross.

“The things Michael Collins stood for, not just as a leader in the War of
Independence but also as minister for finance, were transparency,
accountability and taking responsibility for your actions,” Dr Twomey said.

“If there’s one thing you can say about the Fianna Fáil administration, it’s that it doesn’t stand for those principles. It’s the polar opposite of what Fine Gael and Michael Collins stood for.”

Judging by these sentiments, Dr Twomey is a sad relic of times past
fossilised in his prejudices. Has he ever read the 1922 Treaty? What does he think of it?

Ironically, Brian Lenihan’s grandfather was stationed Dundalk,in the Free
State Army in the 1920s. He was a colleague of Charlie Haughey’s father in that same Free State Army. Fianna Fail/Cumann na nGael. Toss the coin Twomey! The Lenihan family are honourable people. “Mammy” is a national institution. The country needs Fine Gael to steer the recovery. I have repeatedly stated that I believe that Brian Lenihan is completely wrong on the banks to disasterous effect. But is he honourable? Yes! I have opposed Fianna Failery since TACA. The problem has been that the electorate thought less of us than Fianna Fail. They have the right to be wrong and we must now perform and prove our competence. Most of the population would hardly know
of the civil war and what it was about. Smell the roses! Stay cool!