BANGING ON WITH DAVID MCWILLIAMS
Nov 3rd, 2009 by Conor McCabe
If something radical was not done and done quickly, it was crystal clear to me that the Irish banks would experience a traditional run, with depositors taking out their savings, and the banks would go bust. That one thing, at least, was certain.
The minister walked straight through the hall and headed directly into the kitchen as if he knew where he was going. Jaded, he sat down and turned off his phone.”
That was David McWilliams describing the night when the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, knocked on McWilliams’ door and made himself at home.
The Minister needed McWilliams’ advice - hell, the COUNTRY needed McWilliams’ advice - and McWilliams was modest enough to pass it on.
This is not the first time that McWilliams has given advice to those who need it.
Oh no.
In 1972, McWilliams helped Dr. Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc Tho reach agreement at the Paris Peace Talks, as can be seen below from the photo of the meeting, taken from McWilliams’ private collection.
And McWilliams was at the Potsdam Conference to secure the handshakes which prevented World War III.
And he also helped Max von Sydow play chess against Death. Almost won that game as well.
Yep. David McWilliams. A modern Irish hero.
In the top picture that green velvet table at the Paris peace talks looks suitable for card playing. Did McWilliams think to take out a pack from his wallet pocket and suggest a game of poker? Let’s hope McWilliams follows the good example of Le Duc Tho by gracefully refusing the Nobel Prize.
In the Potsdam photo Roosevelt is seen whispering to Uncle Joe: “Do you smell a rat here? I’m not referring to Churchill’s stale cigars.”
In the film still Max von Sydow bears an uncanny resemblance to Bill Clinton. Ingmar Bergman was on to something. So are the bank executives that agreed to the NAMA launch. They resemble Churchill’s stale cigars, or the alternative.
[…] Blanchflower’s argument is right of course, and necessary and important for any government to understand. But I doubt that Brian Lenihan would even cock an ear, never mind stay up late to listen to it. The photo of David McWilliams posing at the Potsdam Conference with Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin is courtesy of Conor McCabe at Dublin Opinion. […]