Poor John! Methinks he doth protest too much.

Former Minister of State, John McGuinness TD, following his departure from the wood-panelled office in Kildare St, has found his voice, even if it is somewhat scattered in its direction. He describes the discontent in the Fianna Fail parliamentary party, his perception of the shortcomings of his boss, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan TD and the absence of enterprise among those who served him faithfully, diligently and selflessly in the finest tradition of the public sector.

He has discovered a 'disconnect' between the paliamentary party and the leadership and considers that his former boss and her style of management not the best, in contrast to his own, no doubt. Poor John, an undiscovered jewel in the crown of greatness! I listened to a tabloid journalist on RTE radio describe John as having a 'high profile' but I was unclear as to the foundations of this, or upon what pantheon it was built. It has been said by many in a position to make an informed judgement that the footprint left by John's slippers across the universe, when he was a minister, were disappointing and not sufficiently enduring to mark this man out as one of the iconic economic architects of the State; a personality whose name is unlikely to become embedded as a trophy intellect in the economic history books of the future.

But,of course, he might choose to illuminate the nation's thinking, through his own fluent eloquence, as to what aspects of his contribution the nation should especially treasure, now that he as been deprived of half-car status.

John naturally feels an inevitable sense of disappointment but can the depths of this compare to the crushing disappointment and outrage of Bev Flynn whose ambition to great office has been thwarted by her younger pretender and most impressive constituency colleague, Dara Calleary? It doesn't take the comments of a tabloid journalist to realise that Dara is much admired. The unsolicited and spontaneous comments of his county men and women speak volumes in this regard. He beat the socks of Bev in the last election and the Taoiseach had to recognise this and establish a vanguard to compete against the Kenny-O'Mahony-Ring triumvirate next time out.

John romped into this Dail at the top of the poll in the 2007 general election and ensured that FF won 3 seats in Carlow Kilkenny. If he hasn't made his mark outside Kilkenny, he certainly has in Kilkenny! Methinks the man doth protest too much! The media will play with the sense of rejection that this man feels, like a poodle when its suits them. But he needs to sets his sights on higher objectives than merely being a self-pitying moron. Poor John!