The "Daithi" McNarry Hokey Cokey
"You put your whole self in, your whole self out". If anyone wishes to provide an Irish or Ulster Scots translation of this, or indeed of the term "hokey cokey" I will look forward to publishing it.
Today's Irish language debate was predictable in the main but surprising in part. Sinn Fein Junior Minister Gerry Kelly broke new ground by addressing the chamber in Ulster Scots. The Alliance's Stephen Farry tried out his Irish. The Ulster Unionist Ken Robinson treated us all to a bit of German.
David McNarry had tabled the motion calling on Executive ministers to refrain from using Irish. He pioneered his own form of "hokey cokey", pointedly leaving the chamber when nationalists responded in Irish, in particular when Caral Ni Chuilin called him "Daithi". Both Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff and Alban Maginnis raised his behaviour, and the Speaker Willie Hay has agreed to give a ruling on whether the "hokey cokey" is out of order.
P.S. The prize for shooting yourself in the foot has to go to the Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy who, in taking a crack at the Alliance's Stephen Farry, said his contribution showed people in Bangor can't spell. He quickly clarified that he was only referring to some people in Bangor. But this didn't stop Barry McElduff pointing out that Bangor was the only place where the UUP still has a Westminster seat. How much longer if the voters find out the party thinks they can't spell?
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It shows just what sort of incompetent buffoons populate that chamber when they prefer to engage in such a charade rather than doing something useful - such as taking a deeper interest in the Causeway affair. David McNarry would be better employed investigating that than getting into pointless arguments about which language someone speaks. I don't care which language they speak in as long as they do their elected job well. Am I asking for too much?
Look forward to the Hansard transcripts!
Anonymous says:
Hokey Cokey from Hocus Pocus I assume, as the Oxford English Dictionary tells me it is so,from Latin Hoc enim est corpus Meum equals in Irish 'Seo 茅 mo chorp' and in Ulster Scots 'hits mae boadie'
So..peeple hoo liv in Bangor cant spel write. So sez a member off the UUP, the grate political haz beenz.Thay should b conserned more with trying to reklaim votes instayed off loosing them with stoopid remarx about grammar in north down.
i hope i have spelt this out simply enuff for Danny kennedy.
Mark
ASSEMBLY RED CARDS: YOU CAN BET ON IT!
The row in the Assembly about the use of the Irish language (Sinn Fein鈥檚 proxy Armalite in the Chamber) was both entertaining (as in farce) and indicative of a deeper malaise. While the top tier of the Coalition continues to swap faux smiles, nods and winks it鈥檚 a different story as you move to the second tier and below. There鈥檚 a palpable venomousness in the exchanges across and around the floor of the Chamber. Seething antipathy permeates every crevasse. It鈥檚 only a matter of time before things boil over and The Speakers brandish the Red Cards. Could this be the tipping point?
On the understanding that I don鈥檛 need a Bookmaking Licence to organise a novelty bet, I am now opening a Book on who will be the first MLA/Minister to be expelled from the Assembly.
The MLAs, Racing Names and Odds, along with the Form Guide for the Assembly Red Card Handicap are as follows:
鈥淲EE SKITTER鈥 - BARRY MCELDUFF, SF 鈥︹..4/5
Form Guide: Barry was a spoilt child, always gurning to have his own way. He is proof, as the Ulster idiom has it, that the 鈥渢he cryin鈥 child always gets the diddy鈥. Unfortunately he didn鈥檛 grow out of it and is now a piece of work, who seeks confrontation at every opportunity. Particularly agitated this year that his favourite team, Tyrone GAA, were eliminated from the All-Ireland and is frequently heard muttering that they鈥檝e gone to the dogs. Odds are short but about right and will encourage the Professional Punter to invest heavily.
鈥淕RANDSTANDER鈥 鈥 DAVID BURNSIDE, UUP 鈥︹..6/1
Form Guide: Started life as an unappealing child (when he was born the Midwife smacked his Mother) and has developed into a wee Jack Russell, always snapping at heels. Wants to be taken seriously but his brusque manner puts people off, friend and foe alike. His insatiable appetite for the limelight might just prompt him to overstep the mark with the Speakers, each of whom would gladly eject him. These odds will look generous to the serious Punter.
鈥淔ASHION STATEMENT鈥 - CAITRIONA RUANE, SF 鈥︹..17/2
Form Guide: Forfeiting a good part of her salary to the Party means that Caitriona has little spare cash available for new clothes and hair care. She鈥檚 starting to feel bitter that she can鈥檛 match Iris Robinson鈥檚 elegance; on top of that, things are crumpling on the Education front. Normally she hides her resentment well but Iris Robinson is really getting to her. Iris is putting the boot into Caitriona over Grannying, academic selection and, well, anything she can think of. Caitriona is now an overheating pressure cooker whose lid has become slightly dislodged; it could hit the roof at any time. The odds are about right and will attract a lot of Punter interest.
鈥淐RUELLA DE VIL鈥 鈥 IRIS ROBINSON, DUP 鈥︹..17/2
Form Guide: As noted above, Iris鈥檚 fate is very much interlinked with Caitriona鈥檚. Up to the present, Iris has had it easy squashing poor old Kieran McCarthy at will. Caitriona is a more worthy opponent for Iris. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that they could both be ejected from the Chamber arising out of a head-to-head confrontation (hair pulling?). If this were to happen, Punters will be paid double the Odds. If anyone out there has a wedge of money to spare, say from selling your Garden to developers, then Iris might be worth a large flutter.
鈥淕RUMPY OLD MAN鈥 鈥 DAVID MCNARRY, UUP 鈥︹..18/1
Form Guide: Normally one of the more eloquent speakers in the Assembly, but lately David鈥檚 contributions are getting crankier by the day. His irritation at the speaking of Irish in the Chamber is only a symptom of his problem, the cause is cigarettes. At the behest of family and friends he鈥檚 been trying to give up the fags but the bottom line is he enjoys a smoke and is puffing away in secret. David wasn鈥檛 storming out of the Chamber because the 鈥淲ee Skitter鈥 was speaking in Irish, he was down in the Gents puffing like mad. This behaviour can only go on for so long before David cracks and gets a Red Card. Punters should place their bets quickly because David鈥檚 odds are likely to shorten fairly soon.
鈥淟OOKIN鈥 FOR A ROW鈥 - JOHN DALLAT, SDLP 鈥︹..20/1
Form Guide: Believes that he is more honest than anyone else to the point of pomposity but pugnacious and tenacious when he suspects there鈥檚 been dirty work at the crossroads. If that crossroads is anywhere near the Giant鈥檚 Causeway Visitor Centre he鈥檒l throw a Wobbler that Willie Hay won鈥檛 be able to ignore. A good outside bet.
鈥淭ALKING MACHINE鈥 鈥 NAOMI LONG, ALLIANCE 鈥︹..25/1
Form Guide: An intelligent, hardworking MLA who gets things done for her constituents. Unfortunately, there is a mechanism within her body that is connected to her voice box. This mechanism is operational from she gets up in the morning until she falls asleep at night because during her waking hours this woman never draws breath, she just talks and talks and talks and talks and drives everybody bloody mad. The Speakers are human like the rest of us so any one of them could crack under a Naomi tirade and eject her from the Chamber. These odds are overgenerous and definitely worth a punt of anybody鈥檚 money.
CURRENT ODDS: All Odds are subject to fluctuation and should be confirmed by Mark before placing bets with him.
Mark, Wee Skitter is a racing cert but Grumpy Old Man looks a good bet to me and I bet he鈥檚 the Housewives鈥 Favourite!
Susie
Carryduff
The row in the Assembly about the use of the Irish language (Sinn Fein鈥檚 proxy Armalite in the Chamber)
I wonder what Dominic 脫 Brolch谩in (SDLP) would think of that.