I carried the cold into my first TV debate with Micheál Martin, the new leader of Fianna Fáil. For many decades, RTÉ had hosted television debates between the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. But the Labour Party had never been allowed into a 3-way Leaders Debate. Their rationale for the exclusion of Labour was that it was proper order to put head to head the potential candidates for Taoiseach. The tussle between Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald was legendary. Bertie Ahern had debated with John Bruton, Michael Noonan and Enda Kenny in successive general elections. These big television debates had considerable influence on the outcomes of the elections, yet the Labour Party was not included. In more recent elections, RTÉ hosted a separate debate for the leaders of the smaller parties – the Progressive Democrats (PDs), Greens, Sinn Féin and Labour. The verbal tussle between Pat Rabbitte and Michael McDowell, the Leader of the PDs, in the 2007 General Election was especially memorable. But given how the polls were going, we were pushing for RTÉ to include me in the main Leader’s debate.
As late as the Labour Party Conference in Galway in mid-April 2010, just nine months before the election was called, RTÉ was still maintaining the status quo. I used my opening speech at the conference to make the case for Labour to be included, and in an analysis piece the following Monday in the Irish Times, headed ‘Savvy performer Gilmore would gain in three-way debate’, Deaglán de Bréadún wrote: ‘The fact that our nearest neighbours have now adopted this practice greatly increases the pressure to include the Labour Leader. It’s not a prospect calculated to delight Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, whatever public protestations they might make to the contrary.’
A highlight of the British General Election, then underway, was their series of debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Shortly after his election as the new Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin wrote to Enda Kenny and me proposing a three-way debate. TV3 offered to host it, but Enda refused to participate. TV3 decided to run a head-to-head between Micheál Martin and me, to be moderated by Vincent Browne. It was set for Tuesday night 8 February. Among commentators the feeling was that I would win such a debate. I was not quite so confident myself. I had been performing well in the Dáil, I was a competent public speaker, I had a good command of policy, and I could generally handle myself well in an interview. However, I had had my fair share of bad days in the studio, and these haunted me a little. In a radio interview with Marian Finucane in September, I came across, I realised afterwards, as unnecessarily evasive about my political past. A technical fault on the headphones had given rise to a poor lunchtime interview with Seán O’Rourke just before Christmas. And although I did fine on the Late Late Show in late November (despite the friendly forewarning from Ryan Tubridy: ‘Eamon, we are not bringing you in for a hug’), I was subsequently criticised for saying that Labour in government would not be able to reverse Fianna Fáil's cuts.
I felt I needed to prepare thoroughly for the TV debates. I got some help from our English-speaking sister parties abroad. Kevin Rudd, who had led the Australian Labor Party back to government after eleven years, but who had since been toppled by his Deputy Leader, Julia Gillard, rang to wish me well and to offer support. I mentioned to him that the journalist Will Hutton had once said that I reminded him of Kevin Rudd, to which Rudd now replied, self-deprecatingly: ‘Oh you poor man. I sincerely hope not.’ Rudd’s policy advisor, John O’Mahony, came over from Australia and worked with a unit in our election headquarters, compiling and updating the message book throughout the campaign. He also helped prepare me for the debates.
Ed Miliband, too, offered the support of the British Labour Party and among those who came over from Britain to help was David Muir, who had worked with Gordon Brown. David, with whom I remained in contact afterwards, organised rehearsals for me before each of the early TV debates.
On the night, I was quite nervous driving into the TV3 studios in Ballymount. No matter how much preparation I had done, I knew this would come down to being able to cope with an hour of intense scrutiny in front of the cameras. The preliminaries, including the press scrum on the way in: ‘How do you feel, Eamon? Are you going to win?’ ‘What do you have to say about Enda Kenny’s refusal to take part?’ etc. was unnerving. Inside the studio building tension mixed with excitement. The debate was very important for both Micheál Martin and me, but it was arguably even more significant, certainly historic, for TV3, being their first leaders’ debate. Everybody was on edge. Make-up, the pre-debate photographs and the on-set promo seemed to go on forever. I just wanted it to start.
To my surprise, Vincent Browne attacked neither of us. He was on his best behaviour and moderated the debate very fairly, concentrating on the questions, which he had prepared well. It was a robust debate. Micheál Martin is an experienced politician and a polished media performer. He tore into me in a kind of rear guard action. Even though Fianna Fáil had been in government for fourteen years, it was as if Labour were already in power and Martin in opposition. I was put on the defensive. Coming off the set at the end, I felt I had not won and would have settled for a draw. The immediate reactions from Mark Garrett and Tony Heffernan seemed to confirm that, but some of the ‘après-match’ commentators gave it to Martin. We moved on.
The second debate included the five party leaders, with Enda Kenny, Micheál Martin, John Gormley and Gerry Adams on RTÉ, moderated by Pat Kenny, and with a studio audience. There were too many of us, and there was no clear winner.
The third debate was another historic first, this time for TG4. There had never before been a leaders’ debate as Gaeilge, and the first was to be an hour-long one between Micheál Martin, Enda Kenny and myself. It was expertly moderated by Eimear Ní Chonaola. It had 600,000 viewers and was considered by many to have been the best of all the debates. The preparation for this debate was very simple. I had dinner the previous evening, in the Radisson Hotel, Galway, with Kathleen Lough and Fidelma Mullane, both members of the Labour Party and both fluent Irish speakers. We talked, as Gaeilge, of course, about the issues likely to come up. We fashioned some phrases I could use and talked through the answers I would give. I reinforced all that the following morning when Fidelma accompanied me to the TG4 studio in Baile na hAmhann. In the end, I was proud to have taken part; and throughout the country, Irish speakers and those who love the language were encouraged by it. The mood was best captured by the message I received from the President of Conradh na Gaeilge, Pádraig Mac Fheargusa: ‘Tá talamh nua briste agaibh. Ócáid stairiúil a bhí ann, agus mar a luaigh an tOllamh Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh sa chur is cúiteamh tar éis, b’iad pobal na Gaeilge na buateoirí móra. Pobal na hÉireann a déarfainn féin; b’ábhar misnigh agus comhaontais dúinn ar fad é.’ (We have broken new ground. This was a historic occasion and as Professor Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh remarked in the commentary afterwards, the Irish speaking community were the big winners. I would say the people of Ireland were the winners, it was a source of courage and unity for us all.)
The final debate, between Kenny, Martin and Gilmore that I had been seeking, was moderated on RTÉ by Miriam O’Callaghan on 22 February. I did no formal preparation for this one. My brother John had come home from the United States to help with the campaign and gave me some good advice. He had worked for over a quarter of a century with CNN, and, for the past decade, as the senior producer on Larry King Live. He had covered several American elections, and knew a thing or two about televised debates. He had been quietly observing my preparations so far and had come to the conclusion that I was being over-coached. He advised me to dispense with rehearsals for this one, to rest on the afternoon of the debate, to go for a walk and clear my head beforehand, and to ‘just be yourself ’ in the studio. It worked. I was more relaxed, and although I’m probably the worst possible judge, I think it was my best television performance.
The new TV debates were not the only pioneering feature of the 2011 election. It was clear from the start that Fianna Fáil were finally going to be ousted from power, but what was not immediately apparent was who would lead the new government – the traditional struggle between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was now one between Fine Gael and Labour. With a new target in its sights, Fine Gael decided to launch a broadside against the Labour Party. Michael Noonan led the attack, claiming that Labour was a ‘high tax party’. We had proposed a 48 per cent tax band on single incomes over €100,000 and on couples earning over €200,000. Yet we found it difficult to shake off