GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI WILL have a high-profile shoulder to lean on whenever he sets off on his long-awaited pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick.
The 72-year-old Italian famously promised that he would climb the spiritual landmark if his Republic of Ireland side qualified for next summer’s European Championships.
And now Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that if Trap remains true to his word and comes to his native Mayo, he will find time to join him on his trek up the mountain’s stony slopes.
Kenny made the pledge as part of a drive aimed at boosting tourism in the region on a day when Ryanair announced four new European routes from Knock Airport.
“I was at the match last week in the Aviva,” Kenny said this morning.
I was talking to John Delaney and I said to him ‘If Signor Trapattoni wants to climb Croagh Patrick, I’ll bring him up myself personally,’ which I will do.
It will be a great boost, Kenny said, “for somebody of his stature and his reach, given the fact that they have the European Championships next year, to stand on top of the mountain and say ‘Here we are. I’m an Italian, I’ve come here, this is a great place.’”
Trapattoni — whose birthday falls on St Patrick’s Day — visited Croagh Patrick a few months after taking charge of the Irish team in 2008 and promised to take on the challenge when Ireland qualified for a major championship.
Asked if he still intended to keep his part of the bargain following last week’s 5-1 aggregate victory over Estonia, Trapattoni joked that he would try to fit it in to the busy schedule which awaits between now and next June.
“I think I will be going to Kiev [for next month's Euro 2012 draw],” he laughed, “but I must also decide when I will go to climb Croagh Patrick.”
Enuf with the PR and SPIN, Get back to work Enda.
Ah no. To be fair now Enda has a 66% approval rating. This will endear him even more to the Irish sheep…sorry, I mean people. What a great wild Mayo man, he’s our Putin!
Any chance Enda could take Gilmore and the entire cabinet up with him and they could stay up there for 5 years of penance, instead of crucifying us down in the real world???
Hope Trappatoni tells him to feck off, this is the sort of “man the people” populist propaganda shite you’d expect from tin pot dictators and Vladimir Putin, he should spend his time concentrating on not breaking anymore election promises.
These fella’s would do anything for a photo opportunity! Tell him to get back to work instead of going for nice walks!
he would probably do a u turn…..
Jesus Christ, some of the comments on here are ridiculous and so childish, he’s walking up Croagh Patrick, something he has been doing for an awful long time and he simply says i’ll escort Trap when he walks up it, what do ya expect him to do? Sit in pubs like his predesscor Cowen and get drunk? The mind boggles at these comments.
Maybe he should walk to Roscommon Hospital and see the devastating affects of his cuts to their A&E have had to those people, walk to Galway University Hospital and look the elderly patients lying on trolleys in the eye as he heaps more and more patients on the already overworked staff there, walk into any low income earners house as they are on the verge of losing it – and tell all those people this is a great place.
The man seriously needs to get his priorities straight and stop making a mockery of the position of Taoiseach. Lead the people. Not walk all over them
I expect the leader of our government to behave in a way that reflects the important role he holds and the serious situation the country finds itself in, and not to indulge such crass populism. For the many of us who continue to believe that this man is out of his depth as Taoiseach and who only finds himself in office because of the shambles created by FF and certainly not because of any confidence in him personally, this kind of gombeen behaviour only reinforces those beliefs. And I’m sure our Italian friend could get one of his fellow Opus Dei members to join him on his pilgrimage, leaving Enda to learn off the talking points prepared for him by his handlers.
Hear hear.
Let me guess…..this trek will be sponsored by the irish tax payer? Seems to me that Enda is trying to ride on the coat tails of Trappatoni’s success and new found popularity. I’ll say one thing for Kenny, he knows how to exploit a PR opportunity!
Would it cause the Irish people to die of twisted tongue disease if they changed the meaningless name of Croagh Patrick to Cruach Phádraig?
My buddy pat donohue died of that!
Enda Putin!
Jesus people love to hate, fair play to Enda for offering to climb it with Trap. It’s a bit of fun!
That’s a pathic publicity gesture. At least when St Patrick went up the reek he performed miracles, like ridding Ireland of serpents.
Look at us now, knee deep in feckin’ serpents and Kenny’s no St Patrick, for sure!
Oh Dear. I guess that means a France Germany final. We’ve given them everything else!!
Desperate populist stuff Enda. Could you see David Cameron walking Capello up a hill? Only in Ireland. Sure while you’re at it Enda a helping hand/Sherpa type with you. I’m sure Mick Wallace would only be delighted at the chance to put away a few prayers in the name of a rearranged Summer Dail recess!
Hold on a second, when did policies come into this? And if were on that, will this venture not help tourism along side the new routes for knock airport? Yes i reckon so. The health fiasco is a problem but he has a minister for Health and he is involved in that issue, there is alot of bad situations going on right around Ireland, is Enda suppose to visit everyone indiviually and promise to sort out their problems when he has to run a country? This country is in the shits but we dont live in Utopia, the country has been left in the crapper so we need to deal with the problems at hand but i dont understand how the Taoiseach walking up a mountain is something that will hamper the economy?
Simply, as you stated, he has a country to run. His time would be far better spent dealing with what is going on in it. The country has been left in the crapper as you so rightly say but Enda isn’t doing much to get it out. Not one more cent to banks. Not one more. That is what he said. 700 million to further bail out banks, 700 million coming off social welfare. We are coming up to another budget, another dent in the pockets of the low income earner. Do you think these people are heartened to see Enda climbing a mountain with the manager of our football team? Do you think this is what people care about? That we should be proud of him? It is a slap in the face of every mortgage holder about to lose their home, the little man worrying about how he will feed his children, the sick worrying about where they will get their treatment and how far they will have to travel to get it.
I wish I could have faith in Enda Kenny as a leader who will take the country out of the mess it is in but gestures like this mean little to the people he is representing. The buck stops with him after all..
2 excellent posts Fiona. No more time for BS.
Hope he dosent give another “finger-in-the-throat”speech like the he did in college green when obama came,,or il push him off the edge of the cliff..still on a cliff edge would be a good metaphor for the country right now..
It will be a great boost, Kenny said, “for somebody of his stature and his reach, given the fact that they have the European Championships next year, to stand on top of the mountain and say ‘Here we are. I’m an Italian, I’ve come here, this is a great place.’” Ass. Pity it wouldn’t be a great boost for the country if the ass went up. Mind you, his record of lying about whay he said and what happened in fact is so poor, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lying here too.
“high profile shoulder”, hardly its only Enda. not Mr T or Rocky. Though maybe if we get Enda a montage things will be better!
Enda grew up in the shadow of the Reek so he’s got some legitimate clam to want to do this.
Please bring him up with you Trap, then please forget to bring him back down. If there isn’t a bus lane for EK to come down, hopefully he won’t be able to find his way back as they’ve now voted that gov can use the bus lanes while the rest of us sit in whatever traffic there is.
Can someone paint a little moustache on wee Edna in the above photo. He can then pledge his allegiance to his new masters.
Hey! And if ‘Wally’ can get the time off he can go too.
I think we have finally found out where Enda has been hiding while he sends his ministers out to deliver bad news. #doitbarefoot
Again Fiona i dont understand what Enda Kenny does in his spare time is of any relevance to the bailout? Leo Varadkar said that not EK so thats wrong, he has a job to do and he is doing it. The social welfare problem is something that needs to be sorted out, is it right that Robbie Keane is entitled to child benefit? Its something that needs to be changed so if it saves 700 million so be it. The fact of the matter is the people here saying he should be doing his job, whats he doing monday to friday? His job!!! If you got a new job would you forego a personal tradition? I bet not.
Thats just is though Pearse, he’s not doing his job. He is not a leader, he is just bending over to the European Union and saying no problem lads, the Irish can take it!! He made so many promises in his election campaign the vast majority of which he has done a u-turn on. The bailout is just one I’ve mentioned.
By all means if the man wants to climb Mount Everest in his spare time away with him, that is not the issue. The issue is why tell the whole country? Does he think people will look at him any differently? Is he trying to claw back some kudos? Because it has backfired into his face, people are just not interested in what Enda Kenny does in his spare time. They are interested in what he does in his 9-5, (with his huge salary, expenses, vast holidays etc). He should lead by example, take a pay cut, work 7 days a week, stop the perks, take control of his Dail. Stand up for the people. And stay out of the papers with this bad attempt at trying to boost morale. It just isn’t working.
this will be covered in the italian media and give the area some great pr