It's been a tumultuous week for anyone involved in Fianna Fáil, aswell as disapointing and sickening.
We need to realise that the Party is more than the elected representatives, the party is more than any cabinet or individual member. Fianna Fáil is a movement that will not and cannot be allowed to be quenched. I will not say I am ashamed to be a member of Fianna Fáil, but what I will say is that i'm disgusted at how the party has been left to rot.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The leaders of our party have abandoned the ordinary members, the non-paid volunteers who are working behind the scenes everyday for this party; canvassing, packing envelopes and getting our message out there; and who strive to see its survival.
I'm not pretending to be the good samaritan or anything else but people need to realise just what this party stands for because I doubt anyone can answer that question. The time is coming when Fianna Fáil will have a chance to look at ourselves and where we are going and where we want to go, because the two are very different.
Who ever takes over this party needs to renew it to face a new world in which Europe and the wider world play a greater part than comely maidens. We all recognise the probleims which have plagued this party in the past and it's time to make a stand and demand these changes be made.
I welcome the leadership battle ensuing the party as a chance to regain a sense of what we stand for, to bring the party back to the membership and to run straight into the future.
Nay-sayers will say that we are dead and that we have nothing left. This isn't true. The party is there throughout the country, we have great candidates (where the conventions have been held) who will do good under the Fianna Fáil banner. To those thinking of jumping ship, think before you leap, that buoy in the water may not be as safe as the burning ship behind you may suggest.
Work for the future and ensure that your voice is heard, be the change you want and make sure you are listened to. Only by that process can we ensure our urvival through this storm.
Hold fast, the clouds are clearing for a brighter day and I for one want to be a part of that.
Hold fast....
Ar aghaidh le Fianna Fái
