This article is from page 11 of the 2011-10-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
CLARE looks set to have a tangible link to the next president of Ireland as a number of opinion polls place Michael D Higgins and Sean Gallagher in a two horse race for a seven year residency of Áras an Uachtaráin.
The current front runner, Sean Gallagher was officially nominated for president after he was given the backing by Clare County Council in September. More importantly for the Gallagher campaign was the backing of Clare County Council at a council meeting on June 20.
At this meeting, which was also addressed by fellow candidates David Norris and Mary Davis, as well as unsuccessful candidates Pat Jones and Ennis man Dermot Mulqueen, the councillors showed their intention to vote for Gallagher – even though they were not constitutionally allowed to support him at that time.
This proved a major boost for the Gallagher campaign and helped to make him a realistic candidate.
Newmarket native and current second favourite according to the polls, Michael D Higgins, also has impeccable Clare connections having spent much of his youth in the county and attended St Flannan’s Secondary School in Ennis. Higgins lived in Ballycar with his aunt and uncle for years during his youth and worked in Shannon before moving to Galway to attend university.
Should he be elected after Thursday’s poll, Mr Higgins will continue a long tradition of Clare presidents follow Michael Hillary and Eamon deValera who was first elected in Clare East in 1918 before representing the Clare constituency from 1922 until 1959.
Whoever is elected President this week, they will be a card carrying supporter of the Cliffs of Moher after the north Clare tourist centre confirmed that all seven candidates have officially pledged to back the final stages of the Cliffs bid to become one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
“We very much welcome the support of all of the Presidential candidates for the Cliffs of Moher. It is the only Irish entry in this world wide competition and has done tremendously well to make the shortlist from the initial 440 sites that competed,” said the Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Hayes (FF).
“We have been mounting a very strong campaign to secure one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature for Ireland and I am delighted that the next President has given full backing to the Cliffs of Moher.”