No shortage of grit on Lenihan's hard road to recovery

RADIO REVIEW:IT WAS supposed to be a secret scoop, but it was the most eagerly awaited interview of recent times. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan spoke to News At One(RTÉ Radio One, weekdays) on Monday about his cancer diagnosis. It was a smart choice. He likely chose Sean O'Rourke because of his high listenership, but perhaps he knew O'Rourke would be fair, yet unrelentingly rigorous too.

Remember O’Rourke’s interview last year with his former colleague George Lee? He got the then Fine Gael candidate so worked up he asked if Lee had the temperament for politics. Lenihan has that temperament. He was unflappable. When O’Rourke asked if he would be a part-time Minister, Lenihan said he would avoid speaking engagements so would actually have more time for business – not less.

O’Rourke asked if it was pancreatic cancer. “They’ve described the fact that there is cancerous tissue at the entrance to my pancreas . . . It’s a growth and it’s a growth I intend to defeat or it will defeat me.” Lenihan said his health was in the public interest, but noted that it wasn’t in the public interest for TV3 to leak the news on St Stephen’s Day. Of TV3’s decision to leak his private medical details, he was notably – remarkably – free of resentment.

Lenihan chuckled occasionally, and when asked how he would deal with public scrutiny said, “I’m not a sovereign pontiff of the Holy See facing extinction with a daily press briefing being issued.” He was stoic, on-message and funny too. From such stony ground, the country may have yet found the strength and leadership it has so badly hungered for.

Liveline(RTÉ Radio One, weekdays) dished the sentiment and schmaltz that neither O'Rourke or Lenihan would be expected to bring. Maureen (73), a Labour supporter, said of Lenihan (50), "I am so proud of young Brian Lenihan. He is positive, he is not letting anything get in his way . . . I will light a candle every day that he gets better because he's the most wonderful lad."

Today With Pat Kenny(RTÉ Radio One, weekdays) hit the ground running this week. Travel correspondent Eoghan Corry gave Michael O'Leary a late Christmas present: "He's a hero and one of the great Irish revolutionaries." Anyone who did or still does enjoy cheap Ryanair flights as an emigrant will tip their hat to that.

Later, intrepid Valerie Cox was in Cork reporting on the poor state of icy roads. In studio, Kenny spoke to Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Association of County and City Councils. Fitzgerald said lack of funding and staff hampered efforts to grit the roads. Kenny added: “It’s not the snowfall of 1982.” But Fitzgerald said he wouldn’t blame anyone. Kenny cited the recent floods and said rivers weren’t properly cleaned when councils did have money and, in relation to the icy roads, said, “It is a lack of preparedness.” After a time, Fitzgerald finally relented: “I agree with you there, Pat, we must learn from our mistakes.” Was that so hard to admit?

On Tuesday's The Ray D'Arcy Show(Today FM, weekdays), D'Arcy brought a welcome moment of light relief to both stories when he read a newspaper headline: "Minister Shows True Grit." It was a nice moment: time to get back to everyday business after a week of fire and ice.

By Wednesday, the weather was even worse. The Last Word(Today FM, weekdays) was all over the rush hour traffic chaos. Matt Cooper reported on abandoned Dublin buses blocking some bus/taxi lanes and unsalted roads created an apocalyptic scene of commuters trudging home en masse in the snow.

“There are lots of you absolutely furious with Dublin Bus,” Cooper said.

The most bizarre story of the week, however, was the one involving explosives wrapped in the backpack belt of an unwitting Slovakian airline passenger who landed in Dublin Airport because of a botched security exercise involving sniffer dogs. Slovak Ambassador to Ireland Roman Buzek told Cooper, “There was no intention to send any explosives to Ireland,” which was nice to hear. When asked if the material onboard could have caused an airline disaster, he replied, “I’m not an expert on explosives,” which wasn’t so nice to hear. But Buzek added, “There was no immediate danger to the jet or the passengers.” But the best line came from the Dublin Airport Authority’s Siobhan Moore. She said security occurs at the point of departure. Cooper asked why the DAA didn’t find the explosives in Dublin. “We didn’t know anything about it,” she said. Well, you can’t argue with that.