These included actors Susan Sarandon and John Cusack, and singer Annie Lennox. Among the populist lefties who did so, one suggested that Daly was in a battle against “the military industrial complex”. 

Daly herself kept campaigning on the basis that her tenure as an MEP was defined by her work for “peace”.

On Tuesday, she was eliminated and lost her seat a few hours before she was succeeded as MEP by Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. Leaving the RDS, she was approached by RTÉ for a comment.

“You’d no interest in talking to me for five years so I’ve no interest in talking to you,” she said.

Ironically, one of the more enduring images of her time in Brussels was a clip of her being pursued by an Irish Times reporter through the corridors of power, refusing to answer questions in a manner more usually associated with dodgy businessmen.

Clare Daly had been a competent and fearless TD

The whole thing was a sad conclusion to her term as an MEP.

Prior to her election in 2019, she had served as TD for eight years. During that period, she was one of the most competent — and, in some instances, fearless — members of that Dáil.

She never shirked from raising issues of injustice. She was forensic in highlighting malpractice in her committee memberships.

Mick Wallace also did transformational work

She performed her role as a tribune of the people by repeatedly highlighting matters in which the State had failed to perform its duty to citizens.

There is a case to be made that she, along with her political ally Mick Wallace, were central to uncovering issues around malpractice in the gardaí that led the government to push through transformational change in the force.

So where did it all go wrong?

Quite simply, the work in what Daly and Wallace describe as “anti-militarism” gave the impression that they were cozying up to totalitarian dictators in Russia, China, and even Syria. 

They regularly contributed to the parliament in a manner that was wholly welcomed by those countries. They appeared to have a sympathetic ear for anybody who considers the US to be the great Satan.

Take their interest in the media. 

Daly and Wallace were and are serious advocates for Julian Assange, the Australian who created Wikileaks, which reported on US torture in Iraq and much nefarious actively done in the name of American foreign policy.

Assange is currently being held in the UK awaiting his fate on a request by the USA to extradite him.

The pair worked tirelessly on the journalist’s campaign. The stance Daly and Wallace took suggested a passionate advocacy for free speech and the role of journalism in a democracy. (Daly assisted me in arranging an interview with Assange’s father when he came to this country and I was grateful for her input).

Feted by state-run media in totalitarian states

Yet, at the same time, the pair were being feted on state-run media in totalitarian states. In an interview with China’s state news agency last year, Daly said that accusations of genocide against Uighur and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province were “complete and utter nonsense”. In 2021, Amnesty International reported that the same minorities face “systematic state-organised mass imprisonment, torture and persecution amounting to crimes against humanity”.

Surely it must have been obvious to Daly that her comments were perfect propaganda for a regime that has an appalling record in human rights. 

China and Russia 

The frequency of her and Wallace appearing on China state TV led to Wallace being known by the moniker ‘Golden Lion King’. All great knockabout stuff if one imagines the Chinese communist party leadership to be a bunch of cuddly lads thinking up new skits for their TikTok app rather than the politburo in a totalitarian state.

The fare in the Russian media was similar. Again, Daly and Wallace were portrayed as the conscience of Europe, railing against the poor put-upon Putin who was only trying to save his country from the evil, militaristic regimes in Washington and Brussels. That may well be how the Irish MEP pair saw it, but it’s not a picture recognisable to most.

Daly and Wallace were passionate advocates for the fourth estate when the power to be held to account was the USA, yet they appear to have had no problem being used as propaganda tools by the state-run media in totalitarian regimes.

Whatever Daly thinks, there are few in her Dublin constituency who believe that stuff is carrying “the voices of the people of Ireland to the EU”.

Had she done the work she is capable of and equally dedicated herself to human rights as most of the rest of us understand that concept she would have sailed through to re-election.

Last night, Wallace lost his seat also after a marathon battle. 

Again, had he not decided to use his position to highlight a weird interpretation of “peace building” he would surely have been returned with little fuss.

In the end, the people spoke and they didn’t need to be told by anybody what they thought of how they had been represented.