The End Of The Road for the Ceann Comhairle?

Verona Murphy looks weak.

The Dáil (Irish Parliament) has always been a theatre of high drama, but what unfolded yesterday during proceedings was a spectacle that laid bare the deepening fractures in Irish politics. At the centre of it all stands Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy, whose actions during another contentious debate on Dáil speaking rights have placed her squarely in the political firing line. The Opposition’s unified stance against her—marked by silence from the opposition leadership when asked did they have confidence in her and scathing criticism from everyone across the opposition benches —signals a brewing crisis that could reshape the dynamics of the Dáil.

The political plot, as always, is convoluted. The government pushed through the speaking rights for Lowry and his cohort of Independents, which the opposition insists was a “ramming through” process. Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald, never one to miss a chance to channel her inner Joan of Arc, declared herself “very troubled” by the Ceann Comhairle…