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Mulcahy going for third FG seat

This article is from page 4 of the 2011-01-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG

HIS motto in life is ‘Give it a lash’ and that is exactly what Tony Mulcahy intends to do in his quest for a seat in Dáil Éireann.

As had been widely expected, the 51-year-old was added to the Fine Gael general election ticket in Clare at the weekend by the party’s headquarters.

This followed the party’s convention in December in which sitting TDs Pat Breen and Joe Carey were selected to run for the party in the forthcoming election.

Mr Mulcahy, a native of Newcastlewest in Limerick, received 3,408 votes when he ran in the general election in 2007. Speaking to The Clare People following his addition to the ticket at the weekend, he said he is confident that he can secure 6,000 votes this time around and win a seat.

The father-of-four, who runs his own catering business in Shannon, has been a member of Clare County Council since 1999 and Shannon Town Council since 1994. He has enjoyed spells as mayor of both the county and town councils.

While his intentions to contest the election were not formally announced until just days before Christmas, in reality there was always a possibility that he would allow his name to go forward.

He thoroughly enjoyed the campaign four years ago and although he has had some health difficulties since then, he has recovered and endeavours a good challenge.

Two years ago, he had a kidney rebuilt, while last year he had issues with blood pressure, but has now declared himself “fighting fit and mad for the road”.

Mr Mulcahy explained the situation, saying, “Just before Christmas, I was asked would I be interested in letting my name go forward by a very senior figure in the party’s management structure after the convention. At the convention I was there to support my two colleagues.”

After he was approached, he discussed it with his wife, Carmel, and “I decided I’d give it one lash. It was a long campaign the last time. I got tired in the end. This one will be shorter.”

Mulcahy will pick up a huge vote in the Shannon area, where he has lived for several years. In the last election, he secured more than 55 per cent of the vote in Shannon and won 33 per cent of votes in the Shannon Electoral Area, which takes in Newmarket-onFergus, Sixmilebridge and Kilmurry. “I believe I can and I believe I will win a seat for Fine Gael in Clare. It will take 6,000 votes,” he said.

Since his entry to politics, he has polled consistently well. His vote of 440 in his maiden election campaign for the county council in 1999 increased to 1,200 in 2004. He secured 1,350 votes in the 2009 local election and while these tallies were impressive, he is acutely aware that winning a seat in the Dáil is a totally different ball game.

Pat Breen is poised to focus on win- ning votes in north and west Clare, while Joe Carey will zone in on mid-Clare and Ennis. This means that Mr Mulcahy is likely to focus on the lion’s share of his campaigning in Shannon and south-east Clare. While the creation of geographical divisions leads to angst in some circles, he embraces it.

“We will have to look at a divide like we did the last time. We would be well placed. The key for people voting for Fine Gael is the balance vote,” he said.

Indeed, he believes that geographic reasons played a key role in him being added to the ticket ahead of Madeleine Taylor-Quinn and Martin Conway.

“No disrespect to Madeleine and Martin but they live in different areas. I ran the last time, I was the may- or since and I am living in the second biggest town in the county,” he said.

He also dismissed speculation that he was added to the ticket merely to help get Joe Carey cross the line. Both live on the same side of the county and votes would be expected to transfer between them.

“Joe Carey won’t need any help from me to get over the line. He wasn’t idle over the past three-anda-half years. Neither was Pat Breen. I’m there to get a third seat for Fine Gael,” he said.

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