Saturday November 27 2010
Politicians were ducking, dodging and throwing jibes at one another.
But nobody was taking the political fighting seriously last night when councillors from the main parties stepped in to the boxing ring.
Hundreds of spectators paid as much as €75 each to watch the Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and Green Party councillors fight for charity in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry, Co Dublin.
And they were not disappointed with their evening of political brawling. Some politicians danced lightly throwing quick jabs at opportune moments, others made straight for their opponent in a flurry of fists.
In what might be a scene repeated in count centres in a matter of weeks, a Fianna Fail man, Eoghan O'Brien was knocked to the canvas by his Labour opponent Aodhan O Riordain. But perhaps worryingly for Enda Kenny, Fine Gael also suffered the same fate when one of their fighters Alan 'The Naas Express' O'Kelly came up against the Labour's Killian 'The Hurricane' Forde.
The Green Party's Donna Cooney was drawn against Fianna Fail councillor Avril Power who both provided the crowd with much to cheer in guts and effort.
Also in the ring last night were Fine Gael's Neale Richmond and Labour's Cian O'Callaghan.
Fine Gael had taken out two full-page ads in the event programme for the evening, one of which featured a muscle-bound Mr Kenny landing a killer right-hook to the chin of a dazed Taoiseach Brian Cowen. "The gloves are off, the country is on the ropes, expect a knock out blow in the first round of Kenny V Cowen," the ad boasted.
If only politics was always this entertaining.
- Kevin Keane
Irish Independent
