Grealish Close To FF Switch

SPECULATION reached fever pitch in political circles this week on the future of PD West Galway Dail Deputy Noel Grealish - with his name being linked again to a possible move to join the ranks of Fianna Fail.Grealish months ago confirmed that he had held unofficial discussions with Minister Eamon O Cuiv. Indeed contacts began as long ago as the afternoon of the count in West Galway in the 2007 General Election. These unofficial contacts were confirmed by Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister O Cuiv, but the speculation took off again this week as preparations went on for the FF Parliamentary Party 'Think Tank’ meeting planned for Galway in mid-September.It would be a master stroke of stage management to produce Noel Grealish at that session, but I understand that such a timeline would be impossible, though behindthe-scenes contacts have gone on. Any possible deal would bea complicated business in Galway because, though the PDs are down to two TDs nationally since their 2007 election disaster, they have strength in depth on the ground in Galway. Nevertheless, Noel Grealish has never denied that he...