Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will conclude my little anecdote to show where we are with this guillotine. The Englishman survived. The second man was the Frenchman and something similar happened him. When the string was pulled, the blade stopped short of his neck and he was pardoned. However, the Irishman was rather like the people in the Seanad. This is the point I am trying to make. The man operating the guillotine pulled the string and the Paddy looked up and said, "I see what is making it stick, sir". Basically, he cut his own throat. That is what is happening here.