Winning the Party

Abstract

John A. Costello expressed the fear in 1960 that the ‘label of conservatism or Toryism’ would be affixed to Fine Gael.¹ An image of the party as one dominated by an older generation of politicians, who were either unwilling or unable to change, had emerged, prompting his concern. Languishing on the opposition benches, most deputies had become despondent, although it did not stop some optimists contemplating a single party Fine Gael government. This was despite the peculiar advice that candidates should not be too forceful in presenting themselves as alternatives!² They were, as journalist John Healy once sarcastically described them, ‘the gentlemen of politics’.³ Minutes of parliamentary party meetings for the period are dominated by criticisms of a lack of activity and persistent appeals for TDs to attend the house, partake in proceedings and vote in divisions. Even the big set-piece occasions like the Ard Fheis were poorly attended. Photographs of those events show ‘small numbers of delegates, well wrapped up in coats, sitting glumly … in what appear to be cold and largely empty halls’.⁴ In a written exchange with James Dillon, John A. Costello encouraged a nurturing of the younger elements of the party and a more dynamic approach to Irish political life. He warned against cultivating, through inaction, the impression that Fine Gael was stagnant or devoid of ideas.⁵ Four years later, his son put before the party a proposal that provided an opportunity to challenge these perceptions.