Although I wouldn’t place all the blame on dear Taoiseach Cowen for the mess Ireland’s currently in – Bertie “Teflon” Ahern wins that honour – I wasn’t impressed by the draconian action taken by the government following a satirical prank played on the Taoiseach. Conor Casby, a Dublin school-teacher, was the mastermind behind a (half-)nude portrait of Brian Cowen, stealthily placed on display in the National Gallery on 7 March. RTÉ saw the opportunity and made a comical report on the prank.

The real news, however, was the sudden disappearance of their report from RTÉ’s website and the subsequent events. All the machinery of the state had suddenly sprung into action to defend the Taoiseach against the evil powers. According to the Sunday Tribune:

• The government press officer Eoghan Ó Neachtain was infuriated by the tone of the piece. He placed a direct call to RTÉ director general Cathal Goan… ( – which seems to have resulted in the RTÉ apology. )
• by Tuesday, Fianna Fáil TD Michael Kennedy was calling on RTÉ ’s director general to “consider his position”, while the national broadcaster made arrangements to broadcast its apology…
• plainclothes detective arrived at the studios of Today FM on Tuesday morning. He demanded access to the station’s email system and told the programme’s producer Will Hanafin that “the powers that be want action taken”…
• [Casby] was finally under real investigation on suspicion of three offences, namely: incitement, indecency and criminal damage [for hammering a nail into the wall of the National Gallery].

It really does seem like excessive government interference. If they are willing to take a heavy hand against something as trivial as that, then what hope is there for freedom of the press in Ireland? RTÉ was (IMHO) forced by the Taoiseach to retract the report and issue an apology:

“RTÉ news would like to apologise for any personal offence caused to Mr Cowen or his family, or for any disrespect shown to the Office of the Taoiseach by our broadcast”

Personal offence? Possibly – but haven’t politicians and other public figures been fair game for non-slanderous parody and satire by the formerly stifled press since Ireland threw off the shackles Charles Haughey and the Catholic Church and joined the ranks of modern Europe? Offence to the family? I don’t see how. Disrespect to the Office of Taoiseach? His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Cowen’s reaction to the prank unnervingly echoes the story of poor Australian writer, Harry Nicolaides, who was thrown in jail for 3 years in Thailand for insulting the Thai monarchy.

In the portrait, Cowen appears in all his glory parading the uniform Fianna Fáil delegates have been sporting during the bubble years. The only problem is that the crisis has unmasked bubble Ireland for what it is. A small child cries out that the emperor has no clothes on, and everybody suddenly emerges from their denial and property-inspired, taboo-enforced hysteria. The cold, unforgiving light of day lays bare the deficient, short-sighted leadership of Ireland.

I only wish the portrait had been of Bertie Ahern, although perhaps the visual impact wouldn’t have been quite the same   Thanks to his bashfulness, Cowen has been caught with his pants down – twice. Hands off, Cowen!

So, in the interest of freedom of the press (and with thanks to Damien Mulley for the YouTube upload) , enjoy: