The differing opinions between Nphet and Donnelly about antigen tests (“snake oil”) over a lengthy period, until antigen tests became the go-to product in 2022, are highlighted. The Danish mink coronavirus issue “caused a snippy exchange between Donnelly and Holohan”. Meetings over leaks are described as “carnage”. Key players in this relationship were the State’s chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Taoiseach Micheál Martin – and the authors clearly show the tensions, the cracks and some of the dysfunctionality in these relationships. Much has been written about the relationships between Nphet and politicians through the pandemic. All seemed to want to tell their story or get things off their chest – maybe to set the record straight for now, or perhaps for posterity. This seems to indicate a well-earned level of trust between the authors and members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), Department of Health officials, politicians, as well as political and Health Service Executive staff. The degree of access that the two authors, journalists Hugh O’Connell and Jack Horgan-Jones (who in on The Irish Times political team) had to the key decision-makers may surprise readers (as it did me) as well as the candour of on and off the record briefings. It’s also about how people put their shoulders to the wheel and go the extra distance – repeatedly. This is a war story, set in the command centre, with no shortage of generals pitting their wits against an invisible enemy. Another is that for much of the action we are flies on the wall, watching a cast of characters interact and at times spark off each other, as they try to get to grips with Covid. One of the reasons is that it is written with the right mix of narrative and dialogue. If reading about a pandemic can be a strangely enjoyable experience, this is the book that makes it just that. The book covers the two-year period from January 2020 (starting with a prophetic email from Kevin Cunningham to then taoiseach Leo Varadkar about the novel coronavirus, stating “It is important to understand that the future is not like the past”) to the relaxing of restrictions with the Omicron variant in February 2022. It also delivers what it promises that is, “the inside story of Ireland’s pandemic: every decision, every player, every text, every leak”. As such, the book is timely and comprehensive in its coverage of the pandemic. Pandemonium: Power, Politics and Ireland’s Pandemic was published on May 5th, just a few weeks after most Covid restrictions in the State had been lifted, and days after the Department of Health stopped announcing daily Covid statistics.
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