FOR THE FIRST time, in a long time, Micheál Martin’s leadership was not a talking point at a party think-in.  

Senators and MEPs gathered over the last two days for the annual get-together in advance of the new Dáil term next week at the Tullamore Court Hotel.

“He’s in flying form,” said one minister, who pointed out that the Taoiseach didn’t appear to be a man that thought he was going anywhere soon. 

It’s true. Martin was in good form, working the room between policy sessions, keen to get around to all his backbenchers. 

The day before the party think-in kicked off, the Taoiseach partook in the festivities that had been arranged by local TD Tony McCormack. This included a trip to Tullamore Dew distillery, where some whiskey was sampled, according to Martin. 

Over the last year there have been criticisms from some within his own party that the Taoiseach does not pay heed or listen to their concerns. Something, of course, Martin has dismissed and denied. 

Micheal Martin speaking to the media. Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

After the dinner on Monday night, Martin did his usual of visiting each table for a chat.

At one point he was seen between TDs James O’Connor and Ryan O’Meara, the ‘young buck’ TDs who issued a statement just five months ago questioning the direction of the Fianna Fáil party.

Although they didn’t name names, everyone knew that the blame was being put at the feet of Micheál Martin. 

Perhaps this think-in was about getting out and about among those he leads, and those that criticised him, if not for the simple enjoyment of it, but because who knows when the tide might turn again in terms of the inevitable leadership discussion. 

Guest of honour Brian Cowen

Similar to Labour last week, Fianna Fáil also had a guest of honour – former taoiseach Brian Cowen. Cowen has been making steady recovery following a stroke in 2019. 

In his opening remarks, the Taoiseach said Cowen was an “outstanding leader of this country”, stating that the surname Cowen was synonymous with Fianna Fáil “and with public service in this country”. 

“I would say the decisions you took, which I witnessed in the midst of crisis, after the last great crash, those decisions which were hard ones were the ones that set the foundations of the pathway back to recovery and to a situation where we are today where we have resilient growth and a strong economy,” he said to loud applause. 

The stark difference between the two Fianna Fáil leaders is that Cowen was party leader for just 2 years and 10 months while Martin has been in the job for over 15 years. 

Martin has seen off many pushes against his leadership, and it has been a focal point of many a think-in. 

Micheal Martin at his party think-in in Tullamore. Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

Think-ins in the past

In 2021, at the think-in at the Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan, the Taoiseach saw down a “tense” discussion about his leadership. 

Questions about the leadership were raised after the party’s poor Dublin Bay South byelection result in which Fianna Fáil secured just 4.6% of the vote. 

A year later, in 2022, Martin told reporters he planned to stay on as leader of Fianna Fáil and lead the party into the next election. Some TDs and senators said it couldn’t be allowed to happen “for the party’s sake”. 

At the time, Martin said the public was not interested in “excessive navel-gazing” by political parties, stating that the public were interested in policy getting delivered.

This was something he repeated at this year’s think-in. 

He said the public and the grassroots “want us to focus on the issues, not an endless speculation about politics”.

He said his focus is on “what matters”, citing cost-of-living and housing issues. 

Asked if his leadership had been raised during the meetings, he told reporters: “It wasn’t raised, and everyone was in good form.”

Flanked by party TDs and Senators at the media engagement, he said: “They’re all smiling at me anyway – whatever that means.”

He added: “Look, it’s been a very positive two days for us as a party. The party is very focused on the issues, and in fairness, all my engagement with the parliamentary party all during the summer was about issues.”

For now, Fianna Fáil is happy to focus on the national issues facing the country. 

It appears they have concluded that the issue that is Martin’s leadership is being put in the back pocket. 

It might not stay there for too long, though. The leadership question will no doubt return in the new year.

The smiles on the faces of his TDs and senators could fade, and Martin should probably be prepared for it.