Cute hoor and, by extension, "cute hoorism", is a cultural concept in Ireland where a certain level of
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
is forgiven - or sometimes even applauded
- of politicians or businessmen. This phenomenon is sometimes attributed to
postcolonialism
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
br>
and
Human capital flight, emigration in Ireland, but also to how historically
passive income
Passive income is unearned income that is acquired automatically with minimal labor to earn or maintain. It is often combined with another source of income, such as a side job. In the United States, the IRS divides income into three categories: ...
and
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
were favoured, in culture and in public policy, over
entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
. But the concept also references how years of net emigration had led to a situation where having a network of powerful contacts created more opportunities for a school or college leaver than
work ethic
Work ethic is a belief that work and diligence have a moral benefit and an inherent ability, virtue or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. It is a set of values centered on importance of work and manifested by determination o ...
, talent or academic achievement.
Cute hoorism in politics has also come to refer to the phenomenon where, because of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
's multi-seat constituency
proportional representation, single transferable vote system, political candidates often face more of a threat in re-election from a
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...
in their party than from a rival in a party with substantially different
political policies. Typically, a successful method of besting a rival with identical political beliefs is by being seen to be better at dealing with
parish pump issues.
However, the phrase "cute hoor" is used more widely than this in politics in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, particularly when referring to cynical tactics in general, such as the difference between pre-election campaigning and post-election
coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
-forming. While such cynical tactics exist in most democracies, they are exacerbated in the
Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
because of the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
,
Partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
and
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
, contributing to a situation where government was dominated by either one of two similar centre-right parties regardless of election results, and strict laws around
censored works
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
and
restricted family planning services could be bypassed by a visit to
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
or
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, where most Irish citizens had connections due to emigration.
Etymology
The phrase "cute hoor" is exemplary in
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...
as it represents three different categories of the dialect: an English word with a distinct meaning in Ireland (cute, meaning shrewd), an Irish neologism in English based on Irish phonetics (hoor, derived from whore) and a compound phrase with a distinct meaning of its own (cute hoor). In the entry for "hoor", Dolan notes "it may be used affectionately as well as pejoratively, especially when qualified by the adjective 'cute'... 'that man's such a cute hoor he'd build a nest in your ear'".
The distinction between "whore" and "hoor" was significant enough for a discussion about it to be entered into Ireland's parliamentary record.
History
On 10 March 1983, the ''
Evening Herald
''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...
'' ran an article on
Terry Leyden
Terry Leyden (born 1 October 1945) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Senator (elected on the Labour Panel) from September 2002 to March 2020, and previously during December 1992 (after being nominated by the Taoiseach) ...
(with reference to him and his running mate
Seán Doherty) in which the phrase was first used in print:
"Few politicians understand the punters better than either. In local parlance they are cute "hoors". But it is hard to say which is the cutest.... in spite of national swings against Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
they have managed to hold onto two out of the three seats n Roscommon over the past four elections.... If their political know-how could be repeated by Fianna Fail in other marginals Charlie Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
would never have lost power."
A few months later, 'cute hoor' was first entered in the
Dáil record on 3 July 1983 by
George Birmingham
George Martin Birmingham (born 3 August 1954) is an Irish judge who has served as President of the Court of Appeal since April 2018 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal since October 2014. He previously served as a judge of the High Court from 2 ...
:
"When the choice is presented to them between leadership and stroking, between courage and cowardice, vision and the philosophy of "the cute hoor", I have no doubt as to whom they will choose. The people have enough confidence in themselves to respond to leadership which is and will be on offer in 15 months' time."
In both instances, the implication (by rival politicians and journalists) was that cute hoor politicians had improved their careers by prioritising local concerns over the national interest. The phrase accelerated in use during the 1980s and 1990s when repeated coalition governments collapsed after corruption scandals or because the support of independent politicians was withdrawn.
Re-Election of Controversial Politicians
While politics in Ireland in the 1990s was focused on high-minded goals such as building the
Celtic Tiger
The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. ...
and the
Peace process
A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict.
Definitions
Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...
, at the ground level matters relating to
political corruption
Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain.
Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...
were collapsing governments and being discussed in election debates. Many issues relating to corruption in
planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
and
public procurement
Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a subst ...
were investigated by
tribunals
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
such as the
Moriarty Tribunal
The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael ...
or the
Mahon Tribunal
The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...
. However, these tribunals did not often lead to criminal convictions and many politicians identified as having acted in an improper manner not only were re-elected but were in a position to leverage a coalition as an independent
T.D.
The following are examples where the term has been applied in the Irish media in reference to a politician being re-elected after a controversy.
Michael Lowry
The 1997
McCracken Tribunal
Brian Moore McCracken (born 13 July 1934) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2006 and a Judge of the High Court from 1995 to 2002. He is an officer of Trinity College, Dublin – ''Visitor of the Col ...
revealed that supermarket tycoon
Ben Dunne
Bernard Dunne (19 May 1908 – 14 April 1983) was an Irish businessman who was the founder and chairman of Dunnes Stores.
Early life
Ben Dunne was born as Bernard Dunn in the village of Rostrevor in County Down, Ireland in 1908. He a was the el ...
had paid IR£395,000 for an extension to
Michael Lowry
Michael Lowry (born 13 March 1953) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1987, currently for the Tipperary constituency. He previously served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications from 1 ...
's home in Tipperary. The Tribunal concluded that Lowry had evaded tax. This allegation prompted his resignation from the Cabinet in November 1996. Taoiseach
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader of ...
announced that Lowry would not be allowed to stand as a Fine Gael candidate at the next election, and he resigned from the party.
Lowry announced that he would stand as an independent candidate at the
1997 general election. He topped the poll in his
Tipperary North constituency at that election, doing so again at the
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
general elections, and yet again in
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
at the general elections of
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
.
Mick Wallace
Mick Wallace
Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician and former property developer who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. He is a member of Independents 4 Change, ...
, an Independent TD, refused to resign his seat after admitting to tax evasion in 2012, stating “I am answerable to the people of Wexford who elected me, and they will discard me when they see fit”.
He was re-elected in 2016.
Boris Johnson
In 2019, ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' asked if
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
was Britain's first cute hoor Prime Minister, noting "Swap a hurl for a cricket bat, the word “Brussels” for “Dublin”, and Johnson would be right at home in a back bar in south Kerry, waging a derisory finger at “them up in Dublin” with one hand and knocking back a pint with the other. Their electorate is the same - tired of being condescended to by elites in a remote city, they respond well to a sly dog who they reckon can get them a good deal"
Supporting a party in governing after resigning from that party
The following politicians resigned from a political party but later supported that party in government in exchange for leverage:
Jackie Healy-Rae
When
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
refused to nominate
Jackie Healy-Rae
John Patrick Healy (9 March 1931 – 5 December 2014), known as Jackie Healy-Rae, was an Irish Independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry South constituency from 1997 to 2011.
Early and private life
Healy-Rae was ...
as a candidate in Kerry South, he decided to run as an Independent candidate in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. This move surprised the party, with many commentators giving him little chance of getting elected. However, Healy-Rae took a seat and denied Fianna Fáil the chance of taking a second seat in the constituency. However, once elected he was in a better negotiating position with the Fianna Fáil-led coalition as an independent than he would have been as a government backbencher. Healy-Rae was one of four Independent TDs (the others were
Harry Blaney
Harry Blaney (18 February 1928 – 29 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish Independent Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal North-East (Dáil constituency), Donegal North-East constituency. His father was Neal Bl ...
,
Tom Gildea
Thomas Gildea (born September 1939) is an Irish former politician who was elected as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1997 general election.
A farmer representing Donegal South-West, he won popular local support for his campaign to l ...
and
Mildred Fox
Mildred Fox (born 17 June 1971) is a former Irish Independent politician. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency from 1995 to 2007.
Private life
She was educated at St. Kilian's Community School in Bray and is a graduate of U ...
) who supported the government throughout its five-year term. In return for this support he secured funding for projects in his constituency and chairmanship of the Environment committee. Many of the projects, such as road improvements, involved contracts or contract lots tendered by
Kerry County Council
Kerry County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chiarraí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and c ...
being awarded to Healy-Rae's plant-hire business.
Healy-Rae's high profile and perceived influence over the government received much coverage, and in the next general election fifteen independent
TDs were returned to
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
.
Mattie McGrath
Matthew McGrath (born 1 September 1958) is an Irish Independent politician and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Tipperary constituency since being elected at the 2007 general election.
McGrath was first elected as a Fianna Fáil TD but he left th ...
- former member of
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
Shane Ross
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross (born 11 July 1949) is a former Irish Independent politician who served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from May 2016 to June 2020. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency from 2 ...
- former member of
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
Advancing local interests
The issue of using making decisions as a government minister which benefit that minister's own constituency is a controversial one, because elected representatives from disadvantaged areas are expected to seek additional services or investment in that area. However, when this is done egregiously it is seen as a symptom of cute hoor politics.
Tom Parlon
In December 2003,
Tom Parlon
Tom Parlon (born 19 August 1953) is a former Irish Progressive Democrats politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency from 2002 to 2007 and was also the Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special r ...
was attacked by other government politicians for claiming the controversial civil service decentralisation plan being implemented was because of his decision, when in fact he had no input into the plan at all and was only a junior by-stander. Parlon, with advance knowledge, erected prominent "Welcome to Parlon country" posters in his constituency as soon as the announcement was made.
Also in taking up his position as Director General of the Construction Industry Federation in 2007, after having a prominent position in the Office of Public Works, led to accusations of a conflict of interest.
In 2008, Parlon publicly took credit for effecting a policy reversal by the Department of Finance on the procurement procedure for State building projects. After his lobbying,
Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
Brian Lenihan agreed to allow €150m of water service projects to go ahead under old "costs plus" contracts rather than the "fixed price" contracts. In fact, the reversal was due to an administrative decision amongst local authorities and not as a consequence of any lobbying.
References
* ''Cute Hoors and Pious Protesters'' by John Drennan, Gill and Macmillan Ltd., 2011.
* {{cite web, title=Strokes, cute hoors and sneaking regarders: the influence of local culture on Irish political style. (Reprint with commentary) {{! Paddy (J.P.) O'Carroll - Academia.edu, url=https://www.academia.edu/10875463/Strokes_cute_hoors_and_sneaking_regarders_the_influence_of_local_culture_on_Irish_political_style_Reprint_with_commentary_, access-date=21 March 2021, website=www.academia.edu
Irish culture