By Daniel McConnell
Transport Minister Shane Ross is writing a “warts and all” book about life in government with Fine Gael, which is due out before Christmas.
The Irish Examiner understands that Mr Ross, who has been cocooning during the Covid-19 pandemic, has used the time to develop the project about his rocky time as a minister under taoisigh Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar.
Provisionally titled In Bed with the Blueshirts, the book is likely to be a much- anticipated publication given Mr Ross’ many and well-publicised rows with Mr Kenny and Fine Gael.
Mr Ross and Mr Kenny came to blows consistently in the early days and were not helped by Mr Ross’ description of the then acting-taoiseach as a “political corpse” during talks in 2016.
Mr Ross, who lost his Dublin-Rathdown seat in the February general election, remains an acting minister until a new government is formed and is no stranger to controversy.
Sources close to the project have confirmed that the book will seek to tell the inside story, warts and all, of life in government with Mr Kenny and Mr Varadkar as part of the now-defunct Independent Alliance.
“It will deal with how friend became foe, and foe became friend overnight. The unknown battles, the honour and the treachery, the rows and the reconciliations will all feature,” one source told the Irish Examiner.
It is understood that writing of the book is at an advanced stage and will chart the turbulent 74 days of government formation in 2016, the fierce rows with Mr Kenny over abortion and demanding a free vote, to his drink-driving legislation, and his clashes with the likes of Pat Hickey and John Delaney and the clean up of the two organisations they led — the Olympic Council of Ireland and the Football Association of Ireland.
