This article is from page 55 of the 2009-06-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 55 JPG
FIANNA FAIL must pay closer at- tention to the concerns and views of grassroots members if they are avoid future election disasters.
That was the view of PJ Ryan on Sunday after his election in the Shan- non Electoral Area. An independent candidate, Mr Ryan was elected on the final count of the afternoon with a total of 1524 votes after transfers – his first preference vote increased from 700 last time out to 1013.
A long serving member of Fianna Fail, Cllr Ryan stood as a party can- didate in the 2004 local elections.
However after he was passed over by headquarters as a candidate this time around, Cllr Ryan opted to run as an independent.
Echoing the sentiments expressed by many unhappy Fianna Fail coun- cillors at the count centre in the West County Hotel, Cllr Ryan said,
“That’s the major problem, that headquarters haven’t listened to the grassroots. They’ve made a lot of mistakes in this election” said Cllr RAEN
He continued, “They had no can- didate in Shannon and they’ve ended up on Shannon Town Council with- out any Fianna Fail candidate. That’s the major problem there. Headquar- ters need to listen to members on the eround. They know whats happening locally. They should have listened to the people on the ground. They might get the message now”.
Despite his strong Fianna Fail links, Cllr Ryan said he would remain an independent voice in the Council
chamber. “I’m elected independent and [ll be independent when I’m elected, simple as that”.
A relieved Cllr Ryan admitted it had been a difficult decision to run as an independent candidate.
He said, “Oh I’m delighted. I’m ab- solutely delighted. The thing was I had to keep battling away. It’s been
a very long haul but the result was good”
Cllr Ryan added, “I was an awful long time with the Fianna Fail or- ganisation. It was a long time to be involved with the party. It was a big step to break, a big decision to break. But I suppose at the end of the day it paid off. I still would say that at the
end of the day that it’s about people. It’s not about parties.”
Clir Ryan said he was looking for- ward to working for the people of the Shannon electoral area.
He said, “Ah yeah, the hard work Starts now. Ah, I’m well used to working in the community and [ll battle away. We’ve got a playground
to build in Cratloe. We’ve got a day- care centre for the elderly to build in Sixmulebridge and a playground to build in Kilkishen”’.