The story behind this Mountmellick photograph of local politicans in the mid 1970s has emerged which shows the nine members of the Mountmellick Town Commission.
The photograph offers a fascinating glimpse into local politics at the time, while also shedding a light on the subtle changes that have taken place in the town.
Pictured in the photograph from left are: PJ Dempsey (FG), Tommy Dowling (FG), Jack Gorman (FF), Mickey Collins (FG), Mrs Molly Dunne (FG), Oliver J Flanagan (FG), Paddy Dowling (FF), Tómas Culleton (FF) and Neville James (FG).
The picture was dubbed ‘7 Up’ as it showed the sweeping success Fine Gael at the time, when it secured seven of of the nine Mountmellick Town Commissioner seats.
Ger Dunne of Emo Stores, whose late mother Molly is in the photograph, posted the photograph on social media and believed it was taken because it represented “the biggest majority by any party in the country at the time”.
However, while politics was important, he said it was always set aside for the good of the town. “All the members always got on well. Most of those on the Town Commission were also on committees for the GAA or the boxing club so they all worked together,” he said.
The main premises on the right is signed: Donaghmore Co-Op – a precursor to Avonmore Co-Op (now Glanbia) and the heyday of that shop has since past and it is now closed.
Another sign of the times is the noticeable cigarettes advertisement on the billboard on the top left – signs of this nature are now illegal with all advertising of tobacco products banned.
Mountmellick Town Council – formerly Mountmellick Town Commissioners – is now no more, having met its demise under Local Government Reform Act of 2014.
Laois did particularly badly under this reform losing town councils in Mountmellick and Portlaoise, and seeing political representation reduced from 25 to 19 on Laois County Council.
Mountmellick has gone from having its own council to now having just one elected representative from the town on Laois County Council, Cllr Paddy Bracken.
Certainly the political landscape also changed in the intervening years as the local town commissioners was strongly dominated by Fine Gael with seven of the nine seats, thanks in no small part to the popularity of Oliver J Flanagan.
Swing
Just over a decade later, things had swung considerably in Fianna Fail’s favour following the election of a young John Moloney, who followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather to win a seat.
Fianna Fáil securing achieved the feat of winning 7 seats.
While he went on to become a TD and then a Minister of State, Mr Moloney said all that mattered to local people were the issues on the ground, regardless of any high profile enjoyed by a local TD.
He may have had a wide brief while working in the Department of Health, but local politics were never far away. “If I was in Mountmellick and there was a burst pipe that affected three or four people, that was all they wanted to know about,” he said.
He said higher profile ministers than him at the time had to know the issues on the ground, regardless of their national or international stature.
“When you were out canvassing for a general or local election the national issues weren’t relevant. All people were concerned with was what was happening in their local area. That is the joy of Irish politics,” he said.
While there may have been political rivalries between parties, especially Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, it was all conducted in a friendly way.
“Over the years we always met in advance of elections to work out where posters and polling stations would be. Having said that, we fought for every vote,” the former minister said.
