This article is from page 10 of the 2011-01-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
IT HAS happened in the past and will probably happen again, that when Clare Fianna Fáil backs are to the wall, the soldiers of destiny come out fighting.
Sunday’s convention was no exception with Fianna Fáil man John O’Rourke leading the charge.
Many arrived at the West County expecting a despondent and defeated party but finding a new candidate with a strong Clare political pedigree seemed to have recharged the batteries.
Firing up the delegates Mr O’Rourke called for unity of cause and the facing down of the party’s many critics.
With the son of former President and Minister – the late Paddy Hillery – taking his seat at the candidates’ podium, the Kilmaley man even referred to the famous and impassioned speech of Dr Hillery at the 1971 Ard Fheis.
It was during the fallout from the arms trail, which was tearing Fianna Fáil apart, but Dr Hillery rose to the defence of Taoiseach Jack Lynch as forces tried to undermine the leadership.
Facing down the would-be rebels he famously said, “Ye can have Boland, but ye can’t have Fianna Fáil.”
Mr O’Rourke was just as passionate as he introduced Dr John Hillery.
“We have gathered here today probably under a cloud but we apologise to no one. We are Fianna Fáil, one of the biggest national parties founded by our forefathers in 1926.
“And over that length of time up until today we have gone through several fights and we have come out the other end. Let the media nor nobody else, all our critics or the opposition doubt the strength of Fianna Fáil,” he told delegates.
“We will come out of this and we will come out a better party. We had the arms crisis and they said we would never survive it. We had a man from Clare here who said ye can have anything but you won’t have Fianna Fáil.”
These words were welcomed with a resounding round of applause from a fired up crowd.
“So let us go out every man woman and child from Loop Head to Killaloe, from Caherdaven to Bellharbour and fight this election like it was never fought before and elect those two candidates,” said Mr O’Rourke.
Later when Minister Tony Killeen (FF) was asked to announce that Taoiseach Brian Cowan was to stay on and fight for the leadership of the party, the news was greeted by a standing ovation from the growing defiant crowd.
Chairman of the convention Minister Eamonn Ó Cuiv (FF) was also in fighting spirit as he told the party faithful, “I love being written off because it makes me go, and I am sure it makes you go too.”
Only time will tell if the party is capable of keeping this fighting spirit going as they approach many hostile doorsteps during the weeks of the campaign.