ItÕs buns and tea for F.G. Ð the genteel art of picking the ticket
Date Published: {J}
It was all terribly genteel in Fine Gael at the weekend as they went further down the road of selecting a ticket for the East Galway constituency. They currently hold two Dail seats out of four, but quietly fancy their chances of wrong-footing Fianna Fail on a good day.
In charge of the consultation process were Director of Elections Kevin O’Brien, a man with a more than decent record of running a campaign from the Local Elections, and Regional Organiser Derry Kelly. Their job was to talk to the local representatives and the possible candidates and then report back to people like General Secretary Tom Curran and strategist Frank Flannery.
They met the potential candidates and local representatives at a series of locations around East Galway – and I believe the word is that they had more than their share of the tea and scones before the night was out, not to mention plots and plans on how a seat might be gained!
It was all very genteel indeed, but you can be darned sure that, before the battle for nominations is over, and the election has been fought, there might be a few ‘buns’ thrown as the contest progresses between the FG candidates themselves.
And that’s before they even take-on the battle against Fianna Fail, where sitting TDs Noel Treacy and Micheal Kitt may be under pressure if the FF votes falls in line with national opinion polls. The rumour is that they might be joined on the FF ticket by Councillor Gerry Finnerty.
Finnerty is now the only FF sitting councillor in what was once legendary Fianna Fail country which did anything but deliver at the 2009 Local Elections, but which the party hope will deliver again when it comes to a General Election .... even if they are quaking in the face of former FF man, Independent Councillor Michael Fahy, standing as an Independent.
In the area, Fine Gael took four county council seats compared to one for Fianna Fail, but there is a quiet fancy among the powers-that-be in FF for Councillor Gerry Finnerty as a possible candidate.
As you can see, Galway East won’t be a clear run for anyone. There is speculation that, for instance, the big winner in the Tuam area from the Local Elections, Independent Councillor Sean Canney, a man with Fianna Fail connections, might run as an Independent.
For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.