Analysis:Bertie Ahern's list has all the hallmarks of a politician who has fought his last general election, writes Stephen Collins.
Through his nominations to Seanad Éireann Bertie Ahern has demonstrated that he doesn't care a fig what most of the media thinks about him any longer, and he doesn't much care what his own party thinks either. The list has all the hallmarks of a politician who has fought his last general election and feels able to indulge his whims.
Eoghan Harris, the Sunday Independentcolumnist and scourge of the mainstream media consensus, was the name that jumped out of the Taoiseach's list, but there were other inclusions and omission that caused as much, if not more comment, within Ahern's own party.
Harris's nomination was certainly the most unexpected one. A former RTÉ producer, the Sunday Independentcolumnist has been involved in politics for more than 40 years in a variety of causes and issues, but has not been a supporter of Fianna Fáil until recent times.
A left-wing member of Sinn Féin in the 1960s, Harris was subsequently a leading figure in Sinn Féin the Workers Party and the Workers Party. He masterminded Proinsias De Rossa's European election victory in 1989 and was a key figure in the Mary Robinson election campaign in 1990.
He subsequently worked as an adviser to the Fine Gael leader John Bruton.
A fierce critique of Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA has been a consistent theme in Harris's political campaigning and writing. When the story about the payments to the Taoiseach broke last October, Harris defended Ahern and he did the same during the general election campaign, maintaining that the controversy had been generated by republicans for their own political advantage.
Harris and the Sunday Independentbacked Ahern during the recent election. In a Late Late Showappearance at a key point in the campaign he strongly defended Ahern and poured scorn on his political enemies. The Taoiseach is aware that Harris is a hugely controversial figure in the media, and his decision to elevate him to the Seanad is a clear message to his critics.
The appointment of two defeated Dáil candidates Ivor Callely and John Ellis caused as much surprise in Fianna Fáil as that of Harris.
Callely, lost his job as a minister of State in 2005 after being embroiled in a controversy over who had paid for renovations to his family home. He narrowly lost his seat, but did very badly in the Seanad elections, winning just nine votes. Ellis did better, but the controversy over the failure of a company in which he was involved to pay farmers for cattle two decades ago continues to dog him.
Both men will struggle to win their Dáil seats back, regardless of the constituency boundary changes later in the year.
The appointment of another defeated Dáil candidate, Martin Brady, did not cause as much surprise but again there were many in Fianna Fáil who felt there were others equally deserving of the honour.
Defeated Dáil and Seanad candidates Ollie Wilkinson in Waterford and Joe Callanan in Galway East are widely respected, hard-working local representatives who deserved another chance, but were not given it.
The appointment of Maria Corrigan in Dublin South was one designed with a eye to the future. She polled well in the recent election and looks like the ideal replacement for Séamus Brennan if he doesn't run at the next election.
There was some comment in Fianna Fáil, though, at the fact that Corrigan, a psychologist specialising in the area of disabilities and special needs, is involved in a relationship with the Taoiseach's old friend, Joe Burke, one of those who contributed to the "dig out" back in 1993/1994.
The appointment of two younger Senators, Lisa McDonald from Wexford and Brian Ó Dómhnaill from Donegal, were also a little unexpected. While they are future prospects, Wexford is not a constituency where a Fianna Fáil gain looks likely next time out, and there were others widely regarded as being ahead of them in the list.
Deirdre Heney from Dublin, who is a definite Dáil prospect, didn't make it, nor did Rachel Doherty from Roscommon, another up-and-coming member of the party who would have stood a real chance of winning a seat next time out.
The failure to appoint somebody from Northern Ireland was another surprise aspect of the Taoiseach's list. There was considerable regret that the chairman of the Forum on Europe, Maurice Hayes, did not get another term.
A wise and hard-working member of the Upper House, he brought a depth of knowledge and a sense of proportion to the variety of issues on which he contributed.
The Taoiseach's 11 will add even more variety to a Seanad which already has a colourful make up.
The first Sinn Féin Senator, a crop of rising Fine Gael and Labour politicians, the conservative Ronan Mullen and the liberal Ivana Bacik, as well as the long-serving Fianna Fáil and university Senators, promises to make the upper House a lively place over the next few years.