Clare still marching with the soldiers of destiny

CLARE delegates who attended last weekend’s Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis have helped “shape the future” of the party according to Fianna Fáil local Comhairle Dáil Cheantair secretary Gerard Reidy.

The árd fheis, the first since last year’s General Election, saw around 150 of Clare’s party faithful travel to the RDS. The importance of the county to the party was strengthened with three Clare representatives elected to the national executive. Tthe strong financial support from Clare supporters as well as the high number of registered cumainn in the county was also outlined.
The annual gathering saw Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley elected to the position of vice-president of the party, while Ennis’ Garrett Greene was elected to the committee of 20 on the party’s national executive.
Mr Reidy, the constituency delegate elected by the cumainn of Clare to the national executive, believes this increased Clare presence on the executive is very positive for the county.
“We have three voices on the national executive that we never had before. We are going to ensure that the concerns and issues the members raise in Clare will get attention at the national executive, which is the decision-making body of the organisation,” he said.
Mr Reidy is enthusiastic about the future of the party, pointing to the high level of young people who attended the árd fheis, with many motions being put forward by younger members of the party through Ógra Fianna Fáil.
“The composition of the crowd was significantly different from other years. There were a lot of younger people there than what we would previously have had. That was evidenced in the election of the committee of 20, the majority of which were under 30 years of age. That is a good example of the change in the age profile of the support for Fianna Fáil. A lot of the motions came from the Ógra units, which was great to see.”
While the party has just one TD in the county, the party continues to receive high levels of support from the Banner. Figures from Fianna Fáil show Clare has the highest number of cumainn registered nationally also for the past three years. Clare has been top of fundraising in the country for the last three years. The national collection in 2009 raised €23,594.26, in 2010, €21,727.35 and 2011, €16,536.02.
This support was recognised at the árd fheis when Fianna Fáil headquarters presented awards to county treasurer Mary O’Dwyer as the Clare constituency came first in the national collection. Marion Coughlan-Flynn, organiser of the national draw, received two awards, with Clare second in the country and also the best in Munster.
“We have 142 cumainn in Clare and to varying degrees, they are all active. We demonstrated that going back to the last local elections where in some areas in Clare, we had phenomenal results. In North Clare, we were the only local electoral area in the country that returned three out of five Fianna Fáil candidates. Of course, there is a good tradition of supporting Fianna Fáil over the years in Clare. It’s good to see that the support is very active with the young people as well,” said Mr Reidy.
Speaking about the árd fheis Mr Reidy commented, “I think that the level of energy and commitment and confidence that was within the sessions in the árd fheis was phenomenal. It wasn’t a social event it was very, very business-like. There was really good contributions from the members in Clare, several people spoke on motions and they were very constructive and the vast majority of them passed. There was a good roadmap established for the future to rebuild the party and to rebuild the support and the confidence of the public.”
Mr Reidy particularly welcomed the ‘one member, one vote’ change to the party’s structure. “I think this is very positive. Up to now, you had a select few in every unit who got to the árd fheis, conventions, or wherever democracy was being undertaken. That’s not the case anymore and every member will have an equal say. There was a lot of support for this from Clare, so already we have been seen to help shape the future of the organisation,” he concluded.