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Bertie Ahern leaving the banking inquiry in July Eamonn Farrell

Bertie: I'd absolutely nothing to do with the bank guarantee

The former taoiseach said he had “long left government” by the time of the September 2008 guarantee. He was gone four months.

BERTIE AHERN SAID he had “absolutely nothing to do” with the 2008 bank guarantee at a book launch in Dublin tonight.

The former taoiseach was speaking at the launch of ’Power Play: The Rise of Modern Sinn Féin‘ by the former Irish Times political correspondent Deaglán de Breádún.

The 2008 blanket guarantee of the Irish banking system was issued just four months after Ahern left office and his successor Brian Cowen and the Fianna Fáil government sought to deal with the unfolding economic crisis.

In a wide-ranging speech, Ahern discussed Sinn Féin’s approach to the guarantee – which it supported but has since opposed – but said he personally didn’t know anything about the controversial measure.

“I have to say, I didn’t know anything about the bank guarantee because I was long left government,” he said to laughter among the audience, adding:

I had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Ahern has previously said the hardest thing he had to tackle was the banking crisis and joked that it was the reason he went grey in just six months.

Appearing before the banking inquiry last July, Ahern apologised for the mistakes his government made between 1997 and 2008, but insisted that he got “a lot of things right”.

Of course, I apologise for my mistakes, but I am also pleased that I did get a lot of things right.

On whether he should have foreseen the crisis, he insisted to the inquiry: “If hindsight was foresight, I’d be a billionaire.”

Several prominent political figures attended the book launch in Hodges Figgis tonight, including former Fianna Fáil ministers Éamon Ó Cuív and Martin Mansergh, and former justice minister Nora Owen.

Councillor Eoin Ó Broin was the only notable Sinn Féin figure in attendance and was one of the interviewees for de Breádún’s book.

Ahern acknowledged the rise of Sinn Féin in his speech, noting that in his old constituency of Dublin Central,  the party will be disappointed if they don’t get 25% of the vote at the next election.

Ahern said this was the “evolution of democratic process that they have followed” and described it as “an extraordinary success story” for Sinn Féin.

Read: Why is Bertie really really very worried?

Read: 13 great Bertieisms at the banking inquiry

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73 Comments
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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:04 PM

    Bertie, despite being an accountant, didn’t even have a bank account,

    why on earth would he possibly want to guarantee the banks!

    Ohh wait!

    420
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    Mute Garwig
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:32 PM

    BERTIE come back and save us from Enda

    78
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    Mute Garwig
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:33 PM

    All is forgiven

    43
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:44 PM

    Bertie Ahern was actually a hospital administrator prior to becoming a TD

    64
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    Mute Kris Ertz
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:58 PM

    Bertie: ‘Sure I didn’t do anything in office’

    401
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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Oct 20th 2015, 7:59 PM

    Bertie was hiding in the cupboard counting his cash.

    383
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    Mute James Kingston
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:01 PM

    He drove a car into a lake with a load of lads inside, jumped out at the last second and blamed it on them.

    369
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    Mute James Gorman
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:23 PM

    He had lot to do with the need for it

    190
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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:57 PM

    What an ugly countenance.
    The face mirrors the Gombeen man.
    For how long more are we to be ruled by such men.?

    174
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    Mute dominic
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    Oct 21st 2015, 4:39 AM

    Gombeen man fits well.Self enrichment first.A sly cunning ,ill educated power lover,a national embarrassment and certainly not a statesman of lasting stature.

    47
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    Mute @mdmak33
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:02 PM

    you perfected corruption in politics Bertie,that’s your legacy.

    331
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:45 PM

    No he didn’t.

    13
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    Mute FlyB
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:34 PM

    Hand on heart I blame him more than I do Cowan.

    253
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    Mute Rehabmeerkat
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:27 PM

    not so sure…. Bertie was too busy being a statesmen saving the North & brown nosing other leaders. he left Cowan in charge of the books.

    33
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    Mute Alan Ripley
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:04 PM

    ““If hindsight was foresight, I’d be a billionaire.” and still without a bank account.

    243
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    Mute little jim
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:21 PM

    I take it he’s already a millionaire, had to rub that in.

    152
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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:59 PM

    What doth it profit a man..

    51
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    Mute Mick Kenny
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:03 PM

    Say the rat that abandoned a sinking ship.

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    Mute John Killeen
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:00 PM

    RAT

    209
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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:03 PM

    @John Killeen
    You have just insulted a relatively harmless species of animal that serve a useful purpose on this Earth.

    78
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    Mute Darren Mc Mahon
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:20 PM

    No but you did plenty to run us up onto the rocks

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    Mute Ronan K. Smith
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:03 PM

    b@st@rd

    199
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:47 PM

    Actually his parents were married when he was born, so technically no.

    6
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    Mute Rachael Ward
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:10 PM

    The money was just resting in his account.

    190
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    Mute Spammer
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:51 PM

    He won the money “on the horses”

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    Mute Type17
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:46 PM

    Resting in his account? – what account?

    62
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    Mute ÉireBlood
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:00 PM

    The man who helped initiate the open-borders invasion of Ireland, a traitor to Ireland.

    170
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    Mute Dingle Holiday
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:24 PM

    traitor to Ireland. and you a Nazi Lover
    https://twitter.com/BloodEire

    51
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    Mute ÉireBlood
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    Oct 20th 2015, 11:25 PM

    A nazi lover, no, a national socialist yes. And as you seem to be ignorant, that means people who love their country, their people, their race – ergo, the opposite to Ahern. Try educating yourself sometime rather than spouting to me the indoctrination tripe you have been spoonfed

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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 21st 2015, 8:38 AM

    Remember FF are an off-shoot, breakaway party of tSinn Fein itself.

    3
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:33 PM

    He was a con man who fooled many of us for a very long time.

    155
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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:08 PM

    Has he sold our forests yet.?

    51
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:46 PM

    No, it is buying them he was trying to do.

    12
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    Mute Joe
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:30 PM

    what a disgusting human being.. typical of the fianna fail mantra. ..ask not what I can do of my country but what my country can do for me

    154
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    Mute Ronan Cooney
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:22 PM

    This mans disrespect for all of us, the generations who’ve gone before and those who will live after us is nauseating … Dirty rotten little troll

    133
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    Mute PJ Berry
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:23 PM

    Cannot understand why anyone would take any notice of anything he has to say.

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    Mute Fran Rooney
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:05 PM

    Bertie was having a dump in the jacks when the guarantee was being signed by big boys.

    125
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    Mute MARK O 'LEARY
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:47 PM

    He was crushing the empty cans and putting them in the recycling bin more like.

    48
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    Mute gary kelly
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:05 PM

    I thought a captain was never supposed to abandon ship?

    106
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    Mute Al Ca
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:26 PM

    “Ah lads! wat wud I do wit bailin’ out de banks…no bank account an’ all dat….com’on now…if I wis goin’ to bailout anthin…it’d be me mattress”

    81
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    Mute Jarlath Murphy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:17 PM

    If hindsight was foresight, I’d be a billionaire.”

    But I couldn’t afford the drop in living standards!

    75
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    Mute Paul MacNulty
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:11 PM

    Bertie had nothing to do with anything……………. Why does any media give this guy any type of coverage???????

    58
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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 20th 2015, 11:58 PM

    Because when we can piss on his grave, we can experience a form of redemption.!

    17
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:36 PM

    Bertie ensured the existence of the circumstances which made a Guarantee superficially appear as the least bad option.

    It was for the EU and the ECB to guarantee the reckless Irish Banks, not the beleaguered Irish tax payer.

    52
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    Mute baz newham
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:42 PM

    F&&k off Bertie you smug pr?ck!

    51
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    Mute Mikeconnor
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:08 PM

    you f^ckin crook Bertie!

    48
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    Mute Alan O'connor
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:13 PM

    SF will get 25% of the vote in Dublin Central because it’s Mary Lou’s constituency and she is a consumate vote hoover. The one thing she’s good at is self promotion. It’s also a place where the promise of everyone else paying for your lifestyle goes down very well.

    47
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    Mute Alan Ripley
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:35 PM

    “she is a consumate vote hoover”

    She’s far from it.

    “For the 2009 European Parliament election, the number of seats for Dublin in the European Parliament was reduced from four to three. McDonald was in a tight race for the last seat against Fianna Fáil’s Eoin Ryan and the Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins. McDonald lost her seat to Higgins, being eliminated at the fifth count. Her first preference vote had declined to nearly 48,000.[10] It was announced that she would be running in Dublin Central at the 2011 general election, and she was elected as a TD on the eighth count”

    32
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    Mute Alan Ripley
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:47 PM

    Oh, and after this book launch bertie was asked about the IRA and SF he said;

    However, the ex-Fianna Fáil expressed alarm at the assertion in the UK report that Sinn Féin remains associated with the Army Council.
    “I suppose there is the one line in it that is interesting that the leadership still comes from the Army Council and it moves from the Army Council to Sinn Fein and the IRA. I thought we’ve moved beyond that but maybe you’d best ask Sinn Fein what the answer to that question is,” Mr Ahern told reporters.

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    Mute Alan O'connor
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:57 PM

    I’d love if she lost her seat but such is her profile now there is a serious danger she might bring in a second seat. I really hope I’m wrong.

    25
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    Mute Alan Ripley
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:59 PM

    I’d expect Ms Cahill to resurface a few weeks out to throw ML a curve ball or two.

    30
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    Mute Al Ca
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:15 PM

    Ms Cahill does not have the courage of her convictions.

    21
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    Mute Alan Ripley
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:05 PM

    Why would you expect her too? She came from a shinner loving family.

    9
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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:32 PM

    Bertie ensured the be distance and the circumstances which made a Guarantee superficially appear as the least bad option.

    It was for the EU and the ECB to guarantee the reckless Irish Banks, not the beleaguered Irish tax payer.

    45
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    Mute Colin Forbes
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:45 PM

    How was I to know I was only an Taoiseach? Fatso was looking after de dosh!

    43
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    Mute Drew TheChinaman :)
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:40 PM

    I can imagine how this went.

    Baloney! I’m not gonna rest until one of us is behind bars… you! You wouldn’t happen to know anything about some banks that got guaranteed in Ireland, 2007?!?

    Bertie: What’s a Bank?

    40
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    Mute Joey Gee
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:06 PM

    How did he create the bank guarantee? This was his successors creation.
    He’s right too on SF in DNC, unfortunately.

    19
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    Mute seamus
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:28 PM

    berty please come back and fu….k the blueshirts and the labour turncoats up the arse, all is forgiven, at least you gave a one for all budget with a surplus, not with borrowed money the arsewipe blueshirts are doing…

    19
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    Mute richard fennessy
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    Oct 20th 2015, 8:41 PM

    Yes Seamus by borrowing 55 million a day

    39
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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Oct 20th 2015, 10:52 PM

    That happened post Bertie. But don’t let the truth get in the way of a good rant

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    Mute Kieran OKeeffe
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    Oct 21st 2015, 12:04 AM

    Find it a bit hard to believe,giving future planning /briefs that it wasn’t on the table under his watch..

    7
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    Mute seamus
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    Oct 21st 2015, 11:12 AM

    i see all the arsewipe blueshirts are out tonight and the labour turncoats…

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    Mute Seamus Brady
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:21 PM

    Bertie he’s almost as believable as honest Enda

    18
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    Mute Paddy kelly
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    Oct 20th 2015, 11:01 PM

    I am pleased that I got of things right…Mussolini and hitler got a lot of things right – autobahn, trains ran on time etc.

    18
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    Mute ÉireBlood
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    Oct 21st 2015, 1:44 AM

    debt slavery of Germans stopped and the criminal bankers kicked out, 6 million unemployed Germans, back to work with pride in 3 yrs

    The Man they Call the Devil
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZG9NXmuCaE

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    Mute John Joseph McDermott
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    Oct 21st 2015, 8:40 AM

    He did not get trains running on time either.!

    1
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    Mute rhetoricwarrior
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    Oct 21st 2015, 1:14 AM

    “if hindsight was foresight I would be a billionaire” poor fella. has to settle with just being a multi millionaire.

    9
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Oct 21st 2015, 1:28 AM

    Oh he wants us to believe he had nothing to do anything that had a negative impact. Fu ck him.

    8
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    Mute Noel Falkhall
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    Oct 20th 2015, 9:15 PM

    No angel but no satin either….

    8
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    Mute Mad Taoiseach
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    Oct 21st 2015, 9:58 AM

    No account so no interest.

    1
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    Mute noel mc cann
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    Oct 21st 2015, 8:37 AM

    No better than the dirtbbirds getting locked up

    1
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    Mute Ashley Brown
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    Oct 21st 2015, 2:17 PM

    Bertie would have made a great barman. He is a great man to spin a yarn. Now running a country is a bit more complex… Everything was fine when he left…but not for very long.

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