A well known East Clare building contractor is heading to the Dáil after securing his election in the 16th count in the Clare general election race.
Joe Cooney said he is “over the moon” to pull off the “massive achievement” of winning Fine Gael’s only Dáil seat after a three and a half week campaign against seasoned political heavyweights such as Timmy Dooley (FF) and Cathal Crowe (FF).
“I appreciate the support I got from my canvass team, which was brilliant. I have been working on the local authority representing the Killaloe Municipal District for the last 20 years,” he said.
“It was something that I looked forward to every day, and every day represented a huge challenge. This is something I enjoyed every day I got up. Every day was a new challenge and now I am looking forward to taking on a new challenge in the next Dáil.”
In an interview with The Clare Champion, Cooney said his main priority is to represent what Clare people want in the Dáil over the next five years.
The Bodyke building contractor and carpenter said the provision of affordable housing is something that he will be highlighting and working to achieve over the coming years. Cooney isn’t making any promises of a quick-fix solutions.
“We all know things are not going to happen overnight. However, we need to work to deliver improved infrastructure and roads for people in Clare,” he said.
Asked about speculation that An Taoiseach Simon Harris and Fine Gael MEP Nina Carbery visited his house before he decided to run and promised him a junior ministry, Cooney said that didn’t happen.
“Simon Harris spoke to me twice on the phone. No promises were made I would get anything,” he said.
“He was hoping I would put my name on the ticket being a rural councillor for 20 years, particularly with the amount of deputies the party was losing from rural areas.
“He did put a bit of pressure on me but said in the end, it was up to myself. After a lot of consideration, I decided to put my name on the ticket.”
The former Clare County Board chairman was hotly tipped by political pundits to make a breakthrough into the Dáil following impressive poll-topping performances in four successive local elections.
First elected in the Scariff Electoral Area at the 2004 Local Elections, the former first citizen increased his first preference vote from 2,697 in 2019 to 2,819 last June, well above the quota of 1,735 in the Killaloe Electoral Area.
Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Communications was centrally involved in Cooney’s social media campaign, which adopted the catchy slogan “Talk to Joe”.
With just three and a half weeks to canvass, Mr Dunphy recalled the former first citizen had to hit the ground running during a very short campaign, which was restricted by the fact he couldn’t canvass in West Clare, Newmarket-on-Fergus or Quin.
“Social media played a big part of his campaign where I came in for a lot of that. That did help spread the message. For Joe to get elected after such a short campaign is a massive achievement,” he said.
“Joe ran a very clean well organised and supported campaign.
“It is brilliant for a man who has given so much to Clare to be handed this honour of representing the county at ‘senior hurling level’.
Asked about “Talk to Joe”, which was borrowed from Joe Duffy’s Liveline catchphrase, Mr Dunphy believes it was appropriate because anyone who talks to Cooney knows he will deliver or do his best to deliver.
“Joe is married to Theresa and his phone. He is very responsive when people call him. The plan was that Joe wasn’t going to change during the campaign and remain who he is,” he said.
“That is what I do with people I work with. You don’t present them as something they are not because they will get found out. Joe is brilliant with people.
“Joe will not be getting up in the Dáil getting knee deep discussing legislative changes. Joe will be somewhere else in a Government department delivering for Clare people. Not every TD is the same.”
Commenting on Cooney’s decision to rule himself out of the race before changing his mind, Mr Dunphy said Joe is in his mid sixties and had family consideration to weigh up being away in Dublin for long periods if he got elected.
“Running for the Dáil is a huge undertaking. Politicians are the bravest people who put themselves forward for a popularity contest. It is human nature for a person to get cold feet and then change their mind,” he said.
“Joe did want to run but there was something holding him back. The Fine Gael tag hangs a little lighter off Joe.
“We promoted Joe as opposed to the [Fine Gael] party during the campaign.
“Everyone speaks very highly of Joe and about his work as a member of Clare County Council.”
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.