Killeen puts ‘cat among the pigeons’ for Fine Gael

The unexpected retirement of Fianna Fáil Minister Tony Killeen will present an opportunity for Fine Gael to gain additional votes, particularly in North Clare, according to party representatives here.

Shannon Councillor Tony Mulcahy, along with Ennistymon Councillor Martin Conway, both believe the Minister’s retirement has altered the political landscape going into the predicted March election.
Councillor Mulcahy was the most recent addition to the Fine Gael ticket for the upcoming election having been selected by the party at the weekend. It is still unclear as to whether or not the party will run a fourth candidate in the constituency but the Mayor of Shannon is now confirmed to run alongside sitting deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey.
The retirement of Minister Tony Killeen has caused some waves in the constituency, Councillor Mulcahy believes, and every effort should be made by Fine Gael to exploit this.
“I think Tony’s departure the other day has made Fine Gael head office think. And if they weren’t thinking I would be awful worried. But no different to any other party, Fine Gael is going to be out there and is going to be planning and thinking, ‘where is the weakness and can we expose that any further?’ Tony’s departure, while we wish him well, has thrown the cat among the pigeons,” Councillor Mulcahy said.
Councillor Mulcahy added that he would run “an honest, open election campaign that will outline my clear objectives and polices for getting County Clare and the country back.”
He described the forthcoming election as “one of the most important elections to ever take place in this country” and urged voters to cast their ballot based on the quality of the candidate and their ability to represent “their family, community and county at national level”.
Councillor Mulcahy, who ran in the 2007 General Election, said he would approach his campaign differently this time and acknowledged that he would need to secure a lot of more votes outside the Shannon area if he is to be successful.
“You have to get at least 6,500 votes, if you don’t you are kind of wasting your time and I am coming off 3,500 votes. This year though it is a completely different scenario to 2007 and we have to see how that factor plays out,” he said.
Councillor Mulcahy said he doesn’t know if Fine Gael head office will add any further names to the ticket in Clare. The Shannon mayor contested the last General Election in 2007 securing 3,408, or 6%, of first preference votes. He was among four Fine Gael candidates, along with the sitting TDs and former councilor Madeleine Taylor Quinn, to contest the race for the Clare constituency’s four Dáil seats.
Commenting on the Fine Gael National Executive decision to add Councillor Mulcahy to the Clare election ticket, Madeleine Taylor-Quinn said that she had “neither sought nor lobbied for a nomination at county or national level. Independently of me, the members of the West Clare Fine Gael Executive, plus the members of seven branches, chose to nominate me for the selection convention. At convention, I declined to go forward. Since then, I have neither spoken to nor lobbied any individual at county or national level requesting to be added as a candidate.”
North Clare councilor Martin Conway stated that he was disappointed not to be selected as part of the Fine Gael election team at the weekend but added that he is still “hopeful that the ticket will be finalised, and there will be a four candidate strategy and that I will be part of that four candidate strategy.”
“I believe with the recent political developments along with the present economic crisis in the country that people are looking for new blood, new leadership in politics, and I believe that I have a proven track record at local authority level and that people know what I am about and know my style and I think that my face on the Fine Gael ticket will ensure that it would be an extremely strong ticket,” he added.
Councillor Conway also believes the departure of Minister Killeen presents an opportunity for Fine Gael in the county.
“Tony attracted votes across the political divide and he certainly secured significant personal local vote in North Clare. As a sitting councillor in Ennistymon with seven years work on Clare County Council and having stood in the last three local elections I believe that I am extremely well placed to provide the people of North Clare and indeed the people of County Clare with an alternative and a new voice in politics and I hope to benefit from the fact Tony is not going to be on the ticket in North Clare,” he concluded.