Paul Murphy, Member of the European Parliament for Dublin.
Paul Murphy is an esteemed member of the European Parliament, having replaced Joe Higgins on behalf of the Socialist Party when Joe was re-elected to the Dáil in February 2011. He is also what my late Mother would have described as a grand young lad, and a passionate young lad at that. He is widely acknowledged as having given some fine performances during the debates on the Austerity Treaty last May. Less impressive was his slovenly showing at the Socialist Party press conference early last September, hastily convened with the sole purpose of condemning Clare Daly, who until the previous day had been his comrade, to enternal damnation. Though, no doubt, his Smithers impression that day will further his rise in the Socialist Party, as it left no doubt that Murphy is a safe pair of jaws on which Party guru and Bob Dylan fan, Kevin McLoughlin, can absolutely rely.
Yesterday should have been a proud day for Murphy's Socialist Party fondlers, as young Paul used the Facebook events page for his upcoming EU Presidency Counter Summit [http://www.facebook.com/events/389726094455421/] to take his first brave step into the dangerous world of literary criticism. Young Murphy audaciously zoomed in on my poem, Austerity Mantra. Specifically, it was the Greek translation by Lina Sipitanou which had him exercised.
See the poem and Lina's translation here http://poeticanet.com/poets.php?subaction=showfull&id=1345343931&archive=&start_from=&ucat=301&show_cat=301
Paul Murphy took time out from his honerous, brow creasing duties, as a Member of the European Parliament, to pose the question: "Haven't the Greeks been through enough without having this [Lina's translation of my poem] inflicted upon them......" His judgement is, it goes without saying, entirely objective and not at all influenced by recent political developments.
It's believed that on hearing of his protegé's bold departure into the world of poetry criticism, Socialist Party General Secretary, Kevin McLoughlin, shed a small, proud tear.
But then Murphy went and ruined the moment when, in a moment of Menshevist weakness, he deleted the above quoted comment. A statement is expected any moment now from the Socialist Party.
Austerity Mantra will feature in my next poetry collection, The Ghost In The Lobby, which will be published in March of next year by Salmon Poetry. It will contain many other poems which young Murphy may find of interest.
