From one Mansergh to another

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Sunday February 08, 2009 19:33 by Paul O' Sullivan paulosullivan01 at gmail dot com

Last week, Martin Mansergh unwittingly gave an insight into the Fianna Fail's attitude toward the opinions of the electorate. His appearance on TV3 was a reminder of his less antagonising sibling.

A senior member of Cork County Council stood aloofly, drumming his fingers against the desk in front of a young audience. A bundle of sheets introducing the new module was passed along steeply sloped rows of seats, upholstered with black leather covering.

The UCC Geography Department lecture hall is cold and antiquated. A nostalgic atmosphere of old academia lingers. The introductory sheet was the usual assemblage of necessary but uninteresting information. Course Name: Town and Regional Planning; Course Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Mansergh. Et cetera.

For us - the students - taking Town and Regional Planning wasn’t convenient - back to back lecturers on a Wednesday evening that didn’t start until five thirty because the quaintly suave guy who stood before us had his day’s work at County Hall to finish. But the course was interesting, perhaps a novel relief from staring down microscopes at rock-slides in the Geology lab.

With the passing of several Wednesday’s lectures became even more interesting as the lecturer’s idiosyncrasies surfaced; his apparent inability to maintain casual eye contact, the gazing through side windows as he entertained himself – nobody else had much idea where the humour lay - with wry, insightful observations on the Irish planning system. And there was his laugh, a braying sound that made everyone else laugh, partly in bewildered sympathy.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked and learned a lot from the guy. A combination of the subject, his straightforward lecturing style and the aforementioned characteristics made Town and Regional Planning one of those marker points of the weekly slog. He seemed to shoot from the hip with honesty, as if the class was a good opportunity to share his actual thoughts on Irish planning.

From his name alone I was curious to know a little background. Someone said he hailed from Co. Tipperary and had a brother working for Fianna Fáil, had been important in the background of the North for two decades.

I have yet to meet Martin, his brother.

From his appearance on TV3’s Nightly News with Vincent Browne (Tuesday 03rd February) I get the impression he shares particular qualities with his sibling, particularly a low threshold of withstanding urges to speak as he truly thinks or feels. Which is admirable, perhaps few would disagree an injection of this quality into the upper echelons of Irish society would be good medicine. Cast a stone, draw a line in the sand, do something.

At least when a Minister tells his co-panellist there’s only a grain of truth in what they have just stated, the discussion can progress in a definite direction.

What was intolerable was Minister Mansergh’s snide rebuke of the chair, the host for using ‘populist’ arguments. The inference was that Mr. Browne was too intelligent to stoop so far as to quite justifiably question potential resource drains such as the police escorts for Minister’s cars and the abundance of clerical staff in government departments.

Intolerable enough to disgust, to make one seethe. If I had been in the building and heard his remark would have cornered him in the corridor or perhaps keyed his car – if his driver that Mr. Browne was so concerned about was elsewhere.

Again, don’t misunderstand. Martin seems pragmatic and uninterested in the trimmings of public life. His rational explanation of why he needs a driver quietened even Browne, laying the matter to rest. He consistently repeated he could speak only for himself, which to my mind is the sign of a man trying to be as honest as possible.

But with this remark he posted his flag and the flag of his party to the mast with steel-tipped nails and a nail-gun. Apparently, populist arguments are to be taken with the same grain Minister Mansergh allowed his co-panellist.

Those few words uttered cast light on Fianna Fáil’s attitude toward the people they were elected to represent, confirming what many suspect in the first instance; those who govern have no regard for those they govern. Obviously, those fortunate enough not to roam the corridors of Leinster House and state departments cannot have any idea how matters operate. Their arguments, however intellectually sound and practically pro-active, are not for consideration.

Now that I think about it, his brother also used to raise his own volume if those around him did likewise, maybe less audaciously. If mannerisms were reliable indicators the Mansergh boys must be quite close.