Ms Beverley Cooper-Flynn criticised her detractors during an interview on local radio yesterday in which she claimed her political ambitions had not been hampered by recent events.
"The view of many of my colleagues was that I should have been allowed due process and that had been the view of An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, until he changed his approach," she told Paula Walsh on Mid-West Radio.
"That is why it came as a surprise to me at 35 minutes' notice on Tuesday that I was to be challenged for the whip on a vote. There was a fair degree of support for me to have due process and ample space to make up my mind, but it came down to a vote between the Taoiseach and I and no one individual is greater than the party.
"The fact is I take a very serious view of tax. I have been a PAYE earner all my life and I have always paid my tax.
"I have been outside of the party before and what it means is that I will no longer be eligible for the parliamentary meetings on Wednesdays and will have no briefings on Bills going through the House. I will have to accept them going through and make my own decisions, so in a sense I am now freer now that I can do this without briefings from my own party colleagues.
"I don't believe my political ambitions are hampered at all by what has happened. There have been three or four other deputies who have lost the whip in the last cabinet, including Charlie McCreevy and Sile de Valera.
"It is actually a standing joke within the party that losing the whip seems to assist rather than `desist' your promotion.
"This now allows me to be fully independent on how I view various Bills going through the Dail and my priority is to represent in the best interest the people of Mayo and that is what I am going to do.
"To explain to people, the most important thing for me was when the case was over I was hugely disappointed with the result. I was very sure it would have been favourable to me. I was mentally exhausted after the seven-week trial and I took the decision I would consult with my lawyers on whether to appeal and I expect to be able to announce that decision very soon, before the three weeks are up.
"The costs issue has not altered anything. A lot of people have placed too much emphasis on it but it is only secondary and hasn't altered my position on whether to appeal. An appeal was under consideration since the moment the verdict was delivered."
On the issue of the potential £2 million costs bill, she said: "It is very staggering and raises a lot of questions about libel cases in this country."
On her political future, she said: "It all remains to be seen whether I have a future in Fianna Fail. Nobody can say from one week to the next what the situation is in politics.
"There is no need for a deselection or a change in my position just because the whip is gone. I have been selected to run for Mayo and there is no change in the position there. I have had the whip removed before and I had to fight an election in Mayo before without it and I topped the poll in Castlebar.
"The reaction on the ground and the support I have received over the seven weeks in the High Court and since the verdict have been unprecedented.
"I wish to thank the people of Mayo for their cards, letters and calls of support; people from the length and breadth of the county have told me they are prepared to support me in whatever capacity they can."