Tag Archives: Michael McNamara

POLITICALLY engaged and numerous throughout the county, the votes of farmers and their families play an important role in every election in Clare. The last year has seen widespread disillusionment in farming, memorably expressed by the beef protests. Speaking to farmers at Ennis Mart on Tuesday it was clear that the dissatisfaction has not abated and none of those who spoke to The Clare Champion were praising Fine Gael’s record on agriculture. Many said they will be voting for East Clare farmer Michael McNamara who was a prominent supporter of last year’s protests. Several others made it clear that they wouldn’t countenance giving any preference to the Green Party whose policies they feel are very clearly against farmers’ interests. One West Clare couple said that farmers are just about able to continue as it is. “People will survive, but that’s all they can do. There’s very little investment in farming other than with grant approval and things like that,” said …

THE absence of Dr Michael Harty from the race poses an interesting question for those trying to read the tea leaves ahead of Clare going to the polls. In 2016, Dr Harty took 8,629 first preferences, 15% of the overall vote, a fantastic performance for a first-time candidate after a relatively short campaign, and he won the second seat. From Kilmihil and standing on the No Doctor No Village platform, it might have been expected that he would take his support from West Clare but people from different parts of the county also got behind him. For instance, tallies show that he took 230 votes from the boxes at the Ennis Town Council offices, about as urban as Clare gets, and a place where doctors are very accessible to voters. He took 76 first preferences from boxes at Quin National School, while tallies at Toonagh National School show he took 95 first preferences, more than any other candidate. Just up …

FARMER and former TD Michael McNamara is supportive of the Beef Plan protests and is holding back his own cattle. “I have cattle that are fit to kill and I’m not moving them. I’m going to hold them until this strike is over, one way or another. Whether they are under 30 months or over 30 months, I’m going to hold them,” he said. He expects things could become even more tense at the front lines of the protest, as he predicts that the “big companies will do everything they can to break the strike”. Mr McNamara slammed the Competition Authority for not looking closely at what is happening in the beef industry. “The only investigation the Competition Authority in Ireland has carried out in relation to price fixing was that they raided the IFA offices. The Competition Authority in Ireland is a joke and I’m happy to be on the record to say they are a joke. They’re like …

A judge has refused an application by former Labour TD Michael McNamara for a Digital Audio Recording (DAR) of the evidence in his dangerous driving case. At Ennis District Court today (Wednesday), Judge Patrick Durcan refused Mr McNamara’s application for the DAR of the day’s evidence in the case, as the 43 year-old prepares an appeal against his dangerous driving conviction to the circuit court. The conviction, which carries an automatic two year driving ban, is in respect of Mr McNamara’s driving at Tobernagath, Scariff on December 10, 2016. Mr McNamara can continue to drive pending his appeal being heard. In court on Wednesday, the solicitor for Mr McNamara said that the application was being made to obtain the DAR to help deal with shortcomings in the prosecution case against him. The application was opposed by the gardaí with Inspector Tom Kennedy telling Judge Durcan: “That is not what the DAR was designed for.” Insp Kennedy said that Mr McNamara …

WHILE Michael McNamara claimed last week that the Labour Party leadership went out of its way to stop him running for election to the Seanad, the party has denied anything underhand has happened. Also, Seamus Ryan, who served as director of elections for Labour in Clare, has defended the party, saying it is no longer in a strong enough position to be putting forward multiple candidates. In a post on social media last week, Mr McNamara wrote, “If there was a democratic contest for the party nomination on the Agricultural Panel, I think I’d have won. So did the party leadership, so there was no contest.” Also, in an interview last week, Mr McNamara, referring to senior figures in the party, said, “It’s quite clear that not alone did I not have their backing but they went out of their way to prevent me from running”. He also claimed that he was being paid back for not being what he …

The political career of Michael McNamara may be over, as the Labour Party has opted not to nominate the East Clare man for the Seanad. Over the course of five years in the Dáil, Mr McNamara was an outspoken critic of his own party on several occasions. Memorably, he said it had an “ancient front bench” after the 2014 Local Elections and, in 2015, he was not part of the parliamentary party for a number of months, as he refused to support the Government’s disposal of the State’s share in Aer Lingus. On Wednesday afternoon, Mr McNamara, who lost his seat in the General Election, said it is now “almost certain” that he won’t get a nomination for the Agricultural Panel of the Seanad. Labour Senator Denis Landy is being nominated by the Greyhound Breeders’ Association of Ireland and Mr McNamara said the general secretary of the party has decided that Labour would not make any nomination itself. “I had …

AFTER Michael McDonagh’s votes were examined it became clear there was no need for a further recount, an exhausted Michael McNamara acknowledged this morning, as he exited the race. The gap of 85 was reduced to 81, but it wasn’t enough and a haggard looking McNamara admitted recent weeks have taken a toll on him. “I’ve been exhausted for about two weeks now. It’s hard, people who haven’t been in an election campaign mightn’t realise quite how hard it can be, physically demanding. But I’m not unique in that, no doubt there are 15 other candidates who are equally exhausted.” Reflecting on his five years in the Dáil, the Scariff man said, “I personally think the country is in a better place than it was in 2011. Not as good as I’d like but much better than it was. I’ll take pride in the fact that I supported a Government that left the country in a better place and also …

DÁIL Éireann has voted by 66 votes to 44 to suspend Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara after he was involved in a heated row with Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett this morning (Wednesday). He has been since suspended for three days. Deputy McNamara was stringently objecting to what he calls the “guillotining” of Dáil bills where they are rushed through without “meaningful debate.” The bill under discussion was the International Protection Bill. Deputy McNamara says that the bill only recognises what he calls “nuclear families,” so that when refugee families come to Ireland, only a husband, spouse or civil partner and their mutual children, will be recognised. Children from other relationships or dependent adults will not be recognised under the legislation that is very likely be passed in Dáil Éireann this afternoon. Deputy McNamara says that he is unlikely to lose the Labour Party whip, for the second time this year but says that he is not certain of this.