Category: News

WHAT are three votes between neighbours? Well, a lot when there is a Clare County Council seat at stake.

That was the reality that faced Fine Gael’s Ger O’Halloran when his neighbour, friend and political foe Clare Colleran Molloy from Fianna Fáil came from behind in the very last count to take the last seat in the Ennis Electoral Area.

On the 19th count there were five candidates remaining to take the last four seats.

O’Halloran was ahead of Colleran Molloy by 11 votes and positioned to take the seat.

However, Ann Norton, who was elected in the 18th count, still had a surplus to divide among the candidates and this brought in Colleran Molloy ahead of O’Halloran.

Norton’s transfer ensured the woman from Quin was ahead of her neighbour by three votes.

Following a mammoth count of the election area with the most candidates in the country, a recount was called.

Hours later both candidates were called to meet with returning officer Michael McNamara, as the crowd watched on.

He informed them that after the recount there was now five votes be- tween them and Ms Colleran Molloy was deemed elected.

There was devastation among O’Halloran’s supporters, and jubilation from those that lived just a few miles away.

A giant of a man, Ger O’Halloran, battled to keep his own emotions in check as he consoled family, friends and supporters.

“We were both from the Quin area and the association between the O’Hallorans and the Collerans goes back generations,” he told the media, describing Clare as “a very wonderful political foe”.

“But I want our families association to continue. You couldn’t make it up,” he said.

“My transfers as it all unfolded were very disappointing. At times I needed to open a little gap to feel more comfortable, but I could feel this dripping away from me. It never ran away from me. It drifted away from me. And ultimately it came down to the one last transfer of votes.

“You just couldn’t make this up as I said. How it has unfolded has added to the drama here in over the last two days,” he added, summing up the political spectacle.

While Mr O’Halloran said it was too soon to say for definite if he would contest another election, his wife Ciara and supporters were quick to say, he would be ready in five years time.

WHEN Clare Colleran Molloy FF and Mary Howard FG were elected to Clare County Council on the 20th and final Ennis count it brought to three the number of women that would serve on the next local authority.

The female complement on the new 28-seat council is still only 10 per cent of the overall council membership, but it is also a 200 per cent increase in female representation at county level.

It was feared that when Cllr Patrica McCarthy (Ind), the only woman on the current council, announced her retirement there would be a shortage of female candidate willing to come forward.

While there will be no female representation on the Killaloe, Shannon and West Clare Municipal Areas, Ennis will now have three.

Clare Colleran Molloy was the last of the three – which includes Ann Norton (Ind) – to be elected and the dark horse among the three.

Her election she admitted was a surprise even to herself.

“I am so thrilled first and foremost as a first time candidate that I got that vote of confidence from so many people and obviously it is reflective of all the hard work I put in along with my husband Tony. We started knocking on doors on February 6 and we had such a good team of not only family and friends but also good cumann Fianna Fáil support,” she said.

“I did not expect to be standing here today,” she said minutes after she was declared elected.

The woman from Quin explained that after hours of nervous energy on Saturday, she had resigned herself to the fact that she would not get the seat by the Sunday. Hours later she was elected.

The new councillor elect has already got a “baptism of fire” in the world of politics following a flow of comments on a public online forum caused her distress ahead of the election.

The barrister said she was currently having that issue dealt with and is looking forward to her new political career.

THERE will be seven new members in the Clare County Council chamber when they meet for the first time on June 6, although one among them, Tony O’Brien, will have served there before.

The Fianna Fáil candidate lost his seat in Killaloe in 2009, but claimed it back on the seventh count with a surplus of 182.

Also coming in on that seventh count was newbie Alan O’Callaghan for Fianna Fáil, who came in ahead of running mate and son of a former county councillor, Liam Wiley, who failed to be elected.

Held high in Treacys West County Hotel at 1.30am on Sunday morning, the Kilmurry man was delighted with his success.

He attributed his win to a strong campaign and a lot of support from family and friends.

A relaxed character, he is undaunted by the size of the Killaloe Electoral Area or his journey into the unknown that is local politics.

“I would be a very positive person and like that; I wouldn’t let anything phase me. I love taking on problems and issues. I love keeping people on the straight and narrow, keeping people informed of what ever they need to do,” said the self employed East Clare man.

So what is he looking forward to now that he has been elected to Clare County Council?

“First of all I am looking forward to meeting my wife, I haven’t seen her in the last four months. Then we’ll get tomorrow out of the way, sit down on Monday and wire into it then,” he said minutes after being elected.

The rest of the new faces include three former town councillors – Mary Howard FG in Ennis, Mike McKee SF in Shannon and Ian Lynch Ind in West Clare.

Also in the line up of new candidates are Independent candidate Ann Norton and Fianna Fáil candidate Clare Colleran Molloy FF.

A FINE Gael councillor says he could not “defend the indefensible” when asked about Government decisions regarding the set up of Irish Water.

Lahinch based councillor, Bill Slattery (FG), who polled an impressive 1,792 first preference votes says he heard a lot of anger on doorsteps, especially when the money paid in Clare through the property tax “left the county” to fund Irish Water.

“It is going to be a challenging five year, it’s been a challenging canvass. A lot of people were very disillusioned with the austerity measures that came in. It was difficult for us, as Government councillors, to try and explain how this happened,” he said.

“Sometimes you could not defend the indefensible, like the property tax not being sent down to the county. People didn’t mind paying it, but when it was taken out of the county to set up Irish Water, people were very annoyed. People were very annoyed, it was very difficult for us councillors to explain that on the doors.

“I don’t mind water charges, because water has to be paid for, but the secretaries and chairpersons of Group Water Schemes don’t know how the billing is going to go. They don’t know is it going to be a metre on a bulk head and they will have to go after [members] for the money. They [Irish Water] haven’t really thought it out right and people were very dissillousioned about that as well.”

Cllr Slattery paid tribute to Senator Martin Conway for helping him in his campaign.

“I’m delighted with the vote. I really didn’t think I’d get that vote when I arrived here yesterday morning. I thought I’d get 1,400 maybe, but to get more then 1,700 – I was over the moon. Since I was co-opted for Martin [Senator Martin Conway (FG)] in June 2011, I knew that Martin would be a hard act to follow. I hit the ground running, got stuck into the local issues and with the help of Martin I was able to do a lot of things myself. I haven’t been idle in the last three years,” he said.

ONE of the biggest shocks of the local elections in Clare occurred on Sunday night when Fine Gael’s Oliver Garry lost his seat on Clare County Council.

The Kildysert man lost out in the race for the final three seats in West Clare after being knocked out on the 11th count.

The disappointment was writ large on Garry’s face at the end of a long day and night in the West County Hotel.

But the experienced politician was taking defeat in his stride.

“I feel disappointed but I’ve gone though worse in life. Losing an election is not the worst thing in the world. We have to get up and get on with life again. Tomorrow I’ll be in a different scene. I’ll be involved in some other project in life. That’s what it’s all about. Losing an election isn’t the end of the world for me,” he said.

Flanked by family and supporters, including Fine Gael TD Pat Breen, Garry recalled the drama of a marathon count.

“I was feeling very

confident during the

day, especially after

last night’s disappoint

ment when my tally

was only 990 and we

found 240 more votes.

I was confident today

but obviously it went

down to who went out

first and where the

transfers were going

to go. They came to

Gabriel (Keating) and

I’d like to congratulate

Gabriel as well.”

He continued, “At least they have a seat in the west, in the Loop, which is important as well. We’re probably without a seat now in the south of the county which is probably a bit disappointing.”

MICHAEL Hillery paid tribute to the support of family and friends after retaining his seat on Clare County Council.

The Fianna Fáil man was elected on the 11th county after securing a total vote of 1883.

“I’m absolutely delighted. It was a very hard campaign and at the end of the day it has worked out for me and I’m delighted that I have been elected,” said Hillery in the West County Hotel on Sunday night.

“It was very, very hotly contested at the doorsteps and I am delighted to have got through”, revealed a re- lieved Hillery.

The man from Spanish Point was quick to pay tribute to the support he received from his family though a long campaign.

“The main thing that got me over the line was the support I got from my family and also the support I got from all the canvassers, all the people that gave up their time freely to come out canvassing with me. I think that’s what really got me over the line; they gave me encouragement during the campaign to keep going when things weren’t going so well. People kept encouraging me to keep going, kept saying I’d make it and at the end of the day it worked out and I’m delighted with that”.

“I was very nervous all day because I didn’t know what way the situation was,” said Hillery of the see-saw battle for seats in West Clare.

He continued, “I know I started of with a quota of just over 1400 but I knew I had a battle on my hands. The people that were going to be eliminated early on were from the southern part of the constituency and I knew I would get very little transfers from those candidates. As it went along that’s what happened. I only went up after four or five eliminations. But when Gerard Kennedy was eliminated, it was from then on I started to move up and it looked like I was going to be elected and that’s the way it worked out”.

ENNIS man Michael Guilfoyle said he is bowing out of local politics after losing his seat in the Ennis electoral area on Sunday.

Guilfoyle was eliminated from the running after the 15th count in the West County on Sunday morning.

“That’s the end of the politics and you’re the first to be told that. Actually, you’re the second, my wife was the first,” Guilfoyle told The Clare People . “I was first elected in 1985. I enjoyed every bit of it. I like to think I achieved something for the town of Ennis. I’d like to think I’ve given something to it. I’d like to thank my family for all their support.”

Guilfoyle admits he is disappointed with his final total of 630 votes. He had pinned his hopes on picking up votes from outgoing councillor Tommy Brennan who retired from local politics.

“Where Tommy Brennan’s vote went, I don’t know. Frankie (Neylon) and myself were hoping for some piece of it. We didn’t get it. Personally, I think they all stayed at home when they knew Tommy wasn’t going!” he says.

Having regained his seat five years ago, Guilfoyle now finds himself a spectator to local politics.

Speaking minutes before his elimination was confirmed, Guilfoyle voiced his concerns over the new structure of local government.

“If you have councillors in Kilmaley, Kilnamona and Quin, they will concentrate on their own area and Ennis will be the fall guy. That would be a concern for me,” he declares.

RICHARD Nagle (FF) has called on the eight councillors elected to the new West Clare Area to work together to insure that enough money can be obtained to keep services in the massive constituency on track. The new area comprises almost half of County Clare, making it one of the largest and most rural electoral areas in Ireland.

“There are a lot of challenges. The West Clare area is vast and predominantly rural. We need to ensure that that the area gets proper funding to enable services to be maintained. There are eight councillors, it is important that those councillors work together for the best interests of the area,” he said.

“We have a big challenge to ensure that we get adequate funding from central government. We got the third lowest Local Government Fund in the country this year. With the introduction of the property charge people rightly expect a level of service, regardless of whether they are urban or rural dwellers. The Ennistymon councillor also paid tribute to everyone who helped in his campaign. “It was extremely challenging. The area covers 47 per cent of the county and it was impossible for any candidate to cover all of the areas. It was extremely demanding. But people were very courteous on the doors for the most part. Some people had very serious issues that they raised, which is what you want to hear on a canvass so you can be aware of them and deal with them. There is a lot of work to be done,” he said. “I’m absolutely thrilled and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who voted for me, to thank all of the people who helped me to get elected and a special word of thanks to my family, for the help and support that they gave me throughout the campaign.”

TONY Mulqueen was taking defeat in his stride on Saturday night after losing his seat on Clare County Council.

Mulqueen was eliminated on the 9th count and despite being surprised by his early ejection, Mulqueen wasn’t feeling too despondent.

“I didn’t see it coming. I had a good canvass. I had a good team. Everything seemed to be on course. That’s politics. In 2004 I was short by 41 votes. I was elected in 2009 and I was rejected this year. That’s politics. That’s life,” recalled the local businessman.

Standing in a quiet corner of the West County Hotel, away from the count centre, Mulqueen said he would analyse the vote to see where it all went wrong

“I think this election was so tight and with such a large number of people that the number two votes I might have got from other candidates – that hadn’t gone over the quota – those votes weren’t coming back to me,” offered Mulqueen, who was one of six Fine Gael candidates in the Ennis area.

“That’s life. There is no one dead. I’m alive. I welcomed into the world this year my second grandchild and I’m happy with that. I’m fine,” he added.

Mulqueen also did not shut the door completely on contesting again in 2019.

He said, “I’ve a huge interest in politics. I only got involved in politics late in life after my family had grown up and I could give it the time. For five years, I worked at it. I worked hard at it. I was elected during a recession in 2009…We’re maybe com- ing out of recession now, who knows. Who knows what will happen in five years time.”

Commenting on his steady showing in the Ennis electoral area, Labour candidate Dermot Hayes accepted it was always going to be difficult for the party to win a seat in Clare.

The local community activist was eliminated on the 16th count after taking in 671 votes. “As they say on the pitch, the wind was well against us”, remarked Hayes on Saturday. “At the same time we should have been proud of ourselves that we went out there and fought away. We’ll still be active in the community. I will always remain active in the community.

“We have to sit down and regroup and see what we are doing. Populism is grand but the reality is that hard choices had to be made, whether we liked it or not”, he added.

HE MAY have been close to the relegation battle in West Clare, but Bill Chambers (FF) was never likely to be left without a seat when the music stopped. After a long day at the count centre at the West County Hotel, and an even longer six months of campaigning, the Cooraclare man said he was never really doubtful of losing his seat, but he was a little nervous.

“It was a great day, I’m delighted. I would like to commiserate with my two colleaugues Oliver Garry (FG) and Pat Keane (FF),” he said.

“We have been in the council together now for a lot of years, they are two gentlemen and I’m really sorry that they have to leave us. As for myself, I wasn’t really that doubtful about I [being re-elected], but I was a bit nervous.”

Chambers has also called for all of the newly elected or re-elected councillors in the West Clare area to work together to serve the need of the massive constituency.

“It’s a completely new council now. Our electoral area has nearly trebled in size from what it was and the town council is gone in Kilrush. We’ll have to focus on looking after Kilrush and the rest of the West Clare areas. But in particular Kilrush, with the council gone, and Kilkee as well has also lost a town council,” he said.

“I will be appealing to the eight councillors to work together. The eight councillors will have to perform and get West Clare on the map, promote industry and tourism.”