Junior minister Christoper O’Sullivan deleted a post in the Fianna Fáil WhatsApp group last Sunday evening after he said drink-drive TD Malcolm Byrne was ‘always destined for greatness’.
asserted
Byrne → delete → greatness
The message was posted after the Irish Mail on Sunday last weekend revealed how a urine test given at a Garda station in Dublin city showed the Government TD was almost two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit.
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TD → post → limit
Mr Byrne is scheduled to appear at the Criminal Court of Justice in Dublin on November 2.
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Byrne → schedule → November
His party colleague Mr O’Sullivan, a junior minister in the Department of Housing and a two-time TD, posted a message on the Fianna Fáil WhatsApp group the same evening with a link to footage showing Mr Byrne appearing on the Late Late Show in his younger days.
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Byrne → post → days
Mr O’Sullivan wrote: ‘A young Malcolm Byrne rocking sideburns on the Late Late is the best thing I’ve seen this weekend.
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I → write → Late
The Cork South West deputy’s own father Christy – also a former Fianna Fáil TD – was convicted of drink driving and served a one-year road ban in 2008.
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father → convict → 2008
Junior minister Christoper O’Sullivan deleted a post in the Fianna Fáil WhatsApp group last Sunday evening after he said drink-drive TD Malcolm Byrne was ‘always destined for greatness’
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Byrne → delete → greatness
One TD who saw the message told the Mail the reaction within the group was like a ‘fart in a lift’.
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reaction → see → lift
The message remained up in the WhatsApp group for a short period before it was deleted by Mr O’Sullivan.
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it → remain → O’Sullivan
None of his colleagues responded to the message.
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None → respond → message
A Fianna Fáil source said: ‘I don’t know where the hell he was… he clearly hadn’t read the papers.’
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he → say → papers
The message was met with confusion within the parliamentary party.
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message → meet → party
Some TDs believed Mr O’Sullivan was being cruel to Mr Byrne given the front-page coverage about his urine test reading while others thought the Fianna Fáil TD had simply not read the coverage.
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TD → believe → coverage
Another TD who saw the message said: ‘Talk about clueless.
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who → see → message
I don’t think he had seen the papers on Sunday.
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he → think → Sunday
He put it in the group on the day of the story.
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He → put → story
‘Malcolm was getting savaged.
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Malcolm → savage → ?
Christopher put in the message on Sunday night and Malcolm was two and a half times over the legal limit.’
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Malcolm → put → limit
The message was deleted at 7.45pm, around an hour after it was posted.
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it → delete → 7.45pm
Anger is growing within the parliamentary party over Mr Byrne’s behaviour.
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Anger → grow → behaviour
One party TD told the MoS: ‘He was two and a half times over the limit… come on.’
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He → tell → limit
Mr O’Sullivan wrote: ‘A young Malcolm Byrne rocking sideburns on the Late Late is the best thing I’ve seen this weekend.
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I → write → Late
A more recent photo of Malcolm Byrne
Sources said there had been a view among some within the parliamentary party that Mr Byrne had only been slightly over the limit, but that attitudes hardened when his urine test results were disclosed.
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results → say → limit
One source noted: ‘There’s no world where it is acceptable; there’s no excuses.’
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it → note → ?
Asked this week if Mr Byrne – who has publicly apologised for his actions and said he will ‘face up to whatever happens’ – would face any sanctions, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: ‘As I said, that the precedent has been up to now, I’m not aware of any case involving road traffic offences that action over and above what transpired in courts took place.
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what → ask → place
‘The standard precedent within the Oireachtas pertaining to all political parties in the past, has been that the courts should mete out the punishment to the individual and should be uncompromising in doing that.
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courts → pertain → that
‘And justice should take its place and due process should apply here, but it’s unacceptable in my view that anyone would be driving in any shape or form [like that], and that is the case and that will go before the courts, but I can’t pre
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I → take → courts
-empt what the courts may do.’
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courts → - → what
He added: ‘But we keep everything under review.’
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we → add → review
Referring to the leader’s comments, one Fianna Fáil TD said: ‘A man who is on his way out wouldn’t have a care about Malcolm.
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who → refer → Malcolm
‘He may decide when the sentence comes down if what’s alleged is true, he may do something then.’
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he → decide → something
However, another TD compared the Taoiseach’s lenient response to Mr Byrne’s drink-driving to the treatment of Dara Calleary, who was forced to resign from Cabinet in 2020 in the wake of the ‘Golf-gate’ controversy.
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who → compare → controversy
One TD said: ‘Dara Calleary went to a dinner during Covid and lost his Cabinet seat over it.’
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Calleary → say → it
Deputy O’Sullivan and the Fianna Fáil press office were contacted for comment this week but no response was received from either.
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response → contact → either
The BIZARRE message about a drink drive TD that this junior minister deleted from a private Fianna Fail WhatsApp group and why many will say it proves politicians are out of touch
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we → delete → article
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