Independents could upset FG

NATIONALLY, Fine Gael spirits have been buoyed by opinion poll after opinion poll showing the party will lead the next government.

In East Galway, however, the party’s two sitting TDs, Ulick Burke and Paul Connaugton, are retiring from politics, as is outgoing Fianna Fáil TD Noel Treacy, who has decided not to run in this week’s election on health grounds.
On a good day, Fine Gael could take three of the seats in the four-seater constituency but the latest odds indicate their plan might be thwarted by Independent councillor Sean Canney from Tuam. According to PaddyPower.com, Fine Gael is likely to emerge with two TDs from the constituency, Councillor Paul Connaughton junior, son of retiring TD Paul Connaughton from Mountbellew and former Progressive Democrat leader Ciaran Cannon. The odds also indicate that the only sitting TD with his hat in the ring this time around, Fianna Fáil’s Michael Kitt, looks set to be returned.
Fine Gael’s Jimmy McClearn from Killimor is also in with a fighting chance (7/4) and if the party manages its transfers well, there is every possibility he might snatch the seat away from Mr Canney, who lacks the backing of a party structure and in-house running mates.
Indeed, Councillor McClearn has found an unlikely backer in the form of former independent candidate and Gort-resident, Adrian Feeney.
“I considered running myself but I thought it is now a time for national politics not for local issues because they will be sorted when our house (the country) is sorted. It was very difficult for me to come out behind a party candidate. I am hugely conflicted about it,” Mr Feeney told The Clare Champion. Mr Feeney ran in the 2004 and 2009 local elections and in the 2007 General Election, each time as an independent.
In 2009 he espoused the benefits of voting for independent candidates, describing them as an “alternative to years of political party neglect” and claimed that “if enough people vote independent, you will see real change”.
Since then, the country has gone through dramatic changes and so too has Mr Feeney’s opinion in relation to the issue.
“This was a very difficult decision for me. It was something I thought a lot about because my job entails working with unemployed people and, as a consequence of seeing the devastation, I found it difficult to see how, as an independent, I could make a difference. I am 100% committed to my community, I will continue to work for it but at this point and juncture, I will be supporting Jimmy McClearn,” he commented.
“Very simply, I think it is time for national politics. I think there should be a national party who should engage in national policies. This is not the time for independents. We want national policies that have positive effects for local areas and the bigger picture as well,” Mr Feeney continued.
Mr Cannon, Mr Connaughton and Mr McClearn are joined on the Fine Gael ticket by Tuam businessman Councillor Tom McHugh. In the 2009 local elections, Councillor McHugh got 2,845 first preferences, polling the second highest after Councillor Sean Canney and ahead of Labour’s Colm Keaveney on more than 2,500. For Fianna Fáil, things are not all bad however and it seems that despite an expected collapse in vote across the country, Michael F Dolan, an accountant from Loughrea, is 2/1 to be elected in Galway East.
According to Galway County Councillor Gerry Finnerty (FF), the response to Mr Dolan is widely positive. Councillor Finnerty had been seen as a likely candidate in this election after Deputy Noel Treacy announced he would not contest. The Kilbeacanty man decided against it this time and has since been canvassing on behalf of Mr Dolan, Deputy Michael Kitt and former Gort school teacher, Galway West’s Frank Fahey.
Councillor Finnerty believes Fianna Fáil was right not to run a candidate in South Galway, an area where just one candidate, independent Emer O’Donnell, is based.
“You have to be realistic about South Galway. I looked at it when considering my own situation. The South Galway vote consists of about 2,200 Fianna Fáil votes from Kilchreest down and that is not enough of a base for a candidate in the south of the county. You would want to be very strong, working on the ground for a long time and be able to target the Fine Gael vote to some extent but at the moment, with the wind at their backs, people who would be thinking of voting for Fine Gael will vote Fine Gael,” Councillor Finnerty outlined.
That said, Mr Dolan “would be seen as the local candidate”, Councillor Finnerty noted, when the party is only running two candidates, the other being Deputy Kitt, based in Ballinasloe.
“The response to Michael Dolan in South Galway has been very positive but people are very cute and very polite so you don’t know how it will go,” Councillor Finnerty stated.
The constituency is open territory for Fianna Fáil candidates, a strategy the party faithful hope will maximise the vote. Constituency-wide, however, the issue on the doorstep remains the same, the Gort councillor has discovered.
“The whole issue has been jobs and the devastation of families through emigration. We are finding families where all their children are away and they are not in England or America but they are mostly in Australia. People are finding it very difficult. They went through the financial hardship of putting their kids through college and now they are watching them leave. A lot of those going are finding the earnings less than they anticipated and they are just existing and a lot of them would still have to get some assistance from home to survive,” Councillor Finnerty stated.
Kilconnell businessman and independent Galway County Councillor Tim Broderick could also be a contender for a seat in this week’s election, having polled nearly 2,000 first preferences in 2009.
Labour is running two candidates in Galway East, Lorraine Higgins from Athenry and Colm Keaveney in Tuam. Both have a strong web presence only topped in the constituency by Sean Canney. Ms Higgins, a barrister, contested the 2009 local elections in the Loughrea electoral area and managed over 800 first preference votes, while her running mate Colm Keaveney is a SIPTU trade union official and county councillor in the Tuam area.
Corrandulla Ciaran Kennedy is running for the Green Party, while Dermot Connolly from Aughrim is the Sinn Féin candidate.