My take is that “Follow the leader” culture ensures the sheep move into action.

As for what should happen next, may I suggest:

(1) Conor Casby let it be know that you need a legal team to sue for invasion of privacy / gross abuse of state power: there will be plenty of pro bono lawyers keen to be associated with your righteous pursuit of damages.

(2) The paintings be bought for the nation by the consortium I’ve put together today. [Please contact me if you'd like to become a shareholder]. The sole purpose of this consortium is to pay the painter for his work, and make a long term investment.

(3) That we lobby the President to make a special award to Conor Casby for brightening up our lives and making us proud to be Irish again. National life has not had such humour for ages.

(4) That a vehicle be found for channeling the outrage felt by citizens at their country being turned into a totalitarian laughing stock. This, more than any other screw-up or corruption, is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Cowen & Lenihan to go before there isn’t a golf club in Ireland brave enough to accept them as members.

(5) That we appeal to Mr Cowen on behalf of his wife and children to do the honourable thing.

Coincidence?

Nope – wasn’t them who sicced the Gardai on Casby or TodayFM – it was the galleries.

Obviously the Director of the National Gallery has more pull than we give him credit for. Not a man to be crossed, clearly if we can get the Gardai to hop to it like that. He’s obviously wasted in the NG. Are the Fraud Squad or CAB hiring?

And the managing director of RTE News, Ed Mulhall, decided on his own the story was in poor taste and pulled it. Nope – nothing to do with the Gov. Press Office, no sir. I wonder if that’s actually true?

Of course, the question now is – having brought RTE News independence into such ill-repute, how can Mulhall justifiably hold onto his job?

So the story now is – is it true that the Gov. Press Office really had nothing to do with this?

Because, having said that they didn’t, if it were shown that they did – then that would be a lie and a possible cover up – and we all know that it’s the lie that always gets you.

So if a Press Officer did a solo run on this scale, does it merit dismissal as it surely has done something ‘unpatriotic’. Interesting use of the term solo run… but silly me: This is FF… nobody gets fired, not now, not ever. It raises the question for me as to what a FF’er would *have to do* to get fired. Blair did get rid of his spin master when he got loose…

Moving on from that, my main question is who nudged RTE’s testicles to make them flinch and apologise and who called in the Gards.