FOR a while, Democratic Left's birthday party would have made a wake look merry. The anniversary bash in a Dublin restaurant for DL, in its present incarnation five years old yesterday, unhappily coincided with the inconclusive result of Proinsias De Rossa's libel case. At first, the party sounds were hushed, soft and steady like the drone from a funeral home. Mr De Rossa was in a formal dark suit and looked every inch a disappointed, if audacious birthday boy, who had not got his wish.
There was no cake, no balloons, no bouncing castle, no Mr Jolly, just Proinsias, four of his TDs, his friends and the media, all with one thing on their minds.
"This is not a strictly political occasion," the party leader said with his specs perched on his nose. "It is very much a social event. We have invited you for a drink and a chat in a bid that you might write something nice about us."
"Some hope," growled Eric Byrne.
It was not a time for political speeches, continued Proinsias philosophically. Sometimes we say unkind things about each other and that is no bad thing "provided it is within the law of libel on both sides". His audience chortled,
Eric stretched in a chair, looking sceptical, and his leader argued there was "no point in having a media that do not criticise, that do not look behind the facade".
But, of course, what was on everyone's mind was the "recent court case", he added tantalisingly Backs suddenly arched with curiosity. Was he about to reveal his intentions about another possible libel action?
No, instead he related a few unexpected and rather ribald yarns from the Four Courts where he had "spent much of the previous 14 days.
Boredom, it appears, can be the greatest enemy of the litigant and to pass the time, Proinsias and his confreres obviously had to amuse themselves. There was the old joke about the judge who told the defendant who was chewing gum to "stop masticating".
There were other gags of fresher vintage and equal bawdiness that raised further jollity. What about the one where the interrogating barrister demanded to know if the fellow was in truth shot in the fracas?
"I was shot between the fracas and the navel," retorted the man.
Democratic Left was five yesterday. It was New Agenda for a month before its creation in 1992 and was the Workers Party before that again. In the last 27 months, it has gone through one of the most spectacular periods of its existence, with four of its Deputies in Ministerial positions.
On Wednesday, popular opinion had it that the party leader was about to whop the opposition in his libel action. It was a matter of how many noughts would be added to the cheque for damages. All this might have dovetailed with the birthday fling but the gentlemen and gentlewomen of the jury dictated otherwise.