The solidarity march that took place in Dublin a couple of weeks ago was attended, somewhat discreetly, by a number of politicians. Not surprising, given that it was just outside Leinster House, and also quite prominent in the news. In the short time I was there I saw newly elected MEP Joe Higgins, Labour TD Brendan Howlin, and these two Fine Gael TDs – children’s spokesman Alan Shatter, and possibly the next Taoiseach, party leader Enda Kenny.
Prior to this photograph, Enda had been taking some flak from one of the attendees of the march for having put forward a motion of no confidence in the government after the local and European election results, which resulted in a debate on the the report into institutional abuse in Ireland being pushed back by a day – the solidarity march had originally been planned to coincide with that debate, and so Enda’s motion had upset the plans of the organisers.
He was unfazed by his critics, maintaining a calm and collected tone and doing his best to explain that, actually, it is the government who decide the schedule. He was equally unfazed by the cameras of the gathered press pack (and me!) when they were focused on him.
That’s not the suggest that he was putting on a solemn face for the cameras – listening to the speakers on the podium during the solidarity march, and seeing the emotion of some of the victims that were in attendance, there were few, if any, smiling faces outside Leinster House that day.
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