Fionnán Sheahan: ‘Putin’s puppet’ tag put an end to Clare Daly’s European tour

In a black-and-white world, the MEP wanted to be both shades and shunned domestic scrutiny

From hero to zero - how Clare Daly went too far left and how it played out in the ballot boxes

Fionnán Sheahan

“You should think more about Crumlin and not the Kremlin.” It was the zinger of a one-liner that summed up Clare Daly’s demise. Barry Andrews had it well-rehearsed, and the Fianna Fáil MEP was just waiting to land it on the live RTÉ debate.

Whether she liked it or not, the radical left-wing MEP was continually accused of being pro-Russian in her stance on the invasion of Ukraine.