It Only Took a Shilling to Finish Off Ernest Blythe. Brian Lenihan Might Like to Bear That in Mind When He Cuts Child Benefit [Eire Region]
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Summary
THE LATE John Kelly TD, a man of towering intellect who as well as being a politician was also Professor of Roman Law and Jurisprudence at UCD, was not overfond of constituency work. His regular re-election to the Dail from 1969 until his retirement in 1989 was thanks to Fine Gael's rock-solid share of the vote in ultraconservative South Dublin rather than any enthusiastic greasing of the parish pump.
Prof. Kelly was, however, a great man for a colourful turn of phrase. He had a fondness for sending hastily typewritten press releases to the national papers, containing details of the hard- hitting speech he had allegedly made that night to 'a meeting of Fine Gael activists' in Ballinteer or some other far-flung corner of his middle-class constituency.See the full content of this document
Extract
It Only Took a Shilling to Finish Off Ernest Blythe. Brian Lenihan Might Like to Bear That in Mind When He Cuts Child Benefit [Eire Region]
Those of us who received these missives in the 70s and early 80s all knew that the meeting had never actually taken place and that Prof. Kelly, from the book-lined study of his Ailesbury Road mansion, had merely been getting something off his chest. But that didn't stop us, any more than it stopped him; because, inevitably, there would be a cracking yarn ...
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