FF's Dick Roche may not be popular in his own party, but even his detractors recognise his tireless work rate, writes Deaglán de Bréadún
There is a story doing the rounds for many years in Leinster House about The Day Dick Roche Got the Call. Ambition could be Roche's middle name and he failed or did not bother to conceal his desire for rapid promotion from lowly backbencher to junior minister, if not a full cabinet post.
Charles Haughey was Taoiseach but, for all Roche's ability and unswerving loyalty, preferment eluded the eager Wicklow deputy. Then one day, after the 1989 general election, The Call came. Roche's heart no doubt missed a beat as the familiar guttural voice of the Laird of Kinsealy summoned him to his office. Roche beetled across as fast as his legs could carry him, only to be told by a mystified secretary that his presence had not been requested by the Taoiseach.
Another version of the story has Roche being told in gravelly Haughey tones to "stay by the phone", implying that a Big Job was on the way. Roche waited in his office but the second call never came, because the voice was not Haughey's at all but that of an accomplished mimic in the party.
Roche has good-humouredly dismissed the story over the years as a "myth" and "urban legend" as has Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, famed in political circles for his Rory Bremner-like gifts of impersonation.
Nevertheless, the story has entered Leinster House folklore. The fact that it gained such currency tells us a lot, not just about Roche but his party as well. As a colleague put it: "He's a sort of an intellectual and bright guy in a party that doesn't like intellectuals and bright guys."
Roche is Mister Europe at the moment. The long wait ended when Bertie Ahern appointed him Minister of State for European Affairs, co-ordinating preparations for Ireland's European presidency in 2004 and managing the second Nice referendum campaign.
Even his greatest detractors readily concede Roche is a tireless worker. Appointed on June 6th, he was soon galvanised by reports that elements in the No campaign were playing the anti-immigration card. Battler Roche went into action, swinging his claymore and highlighting immigration as a fault-line in the No campaign. Since then, it has been almost impossible to go through the day without hearing Roche on the radio or reading his words in print. Already his man-hours and verbal output have probably far exceeded the entire Yes campaign in the first referendum.
Will it do the trick? Everyone concedes that Roche knows what he is talking about. He has lectured on Europe at University College Dublin for years and could hold his own on the topic with just about anyone on the European circuit.
Seasoned observers wonder if his combative approach appeals to those who make up focus groups of representative voters, which Fianna Fáil likes to use to test public opinion. We saw a lot of Roche over the summer, we might not see quite so much of him from now on. "Dick's style of 'attack, attack, attack' doesn't go down well," said one observer. Others would find that a harsh observation of Roche, who was almost a one-man band on the Yes side for several weeks.
THE young Dick Roche came up the hard way. His career could be used in a latter-day version of the classic Samuel Smiles book, Self-Help. Picture this: the earnest youth comes from Wexford town and takes up a position in Dublin as post office clerk (grade B) at the tender age of 16 years. Where others might head to the cinema or the football pitch in the evening, Roche takes himself to the Girls' Technical School in Crumlin to study for the Leaving Certificate.
He joins the Civil Service, working for a time in the private office of Dr Martin O'Donoghue during his time as minister for economic planning and development. On the way, Roche acquires a commerce degree and spends two years in the College of Art and Design.
Leaving the Civil Service in the late 1970s, he promptly joined Fianna Fáil. O'Donoghue was reportedly amazed to meet him at a party ardfheis, as were others who, somewhat surprisingly, regarded him as "very left".
Roche started building a local base in the unpromising and difficult constituency of Wicklow, which in political terms is not so much the garden as the bear-garden of Ireland.
Many tough battles later, he won election to the Dáil in 1987, lost his seat in 1992, failed to regain it in an epic by-election in 1995 and finally made it back to the House in 1997. However, his steadfast loyalty to Haughey and later Ahern was not rewarded. His lack of promotion only served to make him busier and associates say his obvious frustration seemed to make him hyperactive.
On the other hand, his Fianna Fáil colleague in Wicklow, Mr Joe Jacob, became chairman of the parliamentary party and Minister of State, although Jacob's star began to wane after that famously disastrous radio interview with Marian Finucane about Government precautions in the event of a nuclear catastrophe. In the last election, Roche topped the poll with 9,222 first preferences.
"At last he has made the breakthrough," said one of his few close friends in politics. He is passionate about the European project and there is a vignette of Roche after the summer launch of the Government's White Paper on Nice. Mulling over the issues in his office with colleagues, Roche took a picture of the Warsaw Ghetto down from the wall. Pointing to the terrified Jews being marched away by German soldiers, he fervently informed them that, for all its flaws, the EU had saved us from a repetition of that tragedy and brought a half-century of peace to Europe.
He cancelled his holidays in France this year to campaign for Nice, providing a counterpoint to the Justin Barretts and Anthony Coughlans in the dog-days of August. The No side gleefully seized on a speech Roche had made in the Dáil after the first referendum where he said: "Something fundamental will have to be changed in the Nice Treaty before we can even contemplate putting it before the people again." He has also demurred at the Government's failure to hold a referendum on joining NATO's Partnership for Peace.
BUT whatever his reservations about a second vote on Nice, his political fate is intimately intertwined with the treaty. A close observer of the political process said: "If he pulls it off, he will get his reward; if it backfires, he will never be heard of again."
A typical entry in Roche's diary these days would probably read: "Radio interviews with Morning Ireland and East Coast Radio, press interview with the Irish Catholic, travel to Killarney, stop at Limerick for two meetings, attend parliamentary party seminar on Nice, more interviews, then on to Longford for public meeting that night, home to Bray in the early hours." Even before the date of the referendum was announced, he had 40 related engagements in his diary.
Opponents claim he "goes with the flow" but one strong conviction is his opposition to abortion which he has campaigned against for 20 years. He has also been active on issues such as the Birmingham Six and independence for East Timor. He is married to Eleanor Griffin, who influenced his decision to join Fianna Fáil, and they have four children.
The Dick Roche website on the Internet is indeed a "site" to behold, reflecting both his professionalism and lack of false modesty. Visit www.dickroche.com and you will find news items headed: "Dick Answers Sinn Féin on Neutrality", "Dick announces €4.4 million investment for Carnew", "Dick Scores a Breakthrough on Wicklow Barracks".
What the headline will be if Nice is passed, one can only speculate.