If political opinion polls aren’t the most reliable gauge, then election launches are on another level again in accurately ascertaining a party’s current health.
But it was still interesting to observe the strong attendance at the Fianna Fáil election rally in the Castle Arms in Durrow on Saturday night.
Just under 150 party supporters turned out to formally kickstart their Local Election campaign. It being a Saturday night may have been a factor but, by comparison, there were 70-80 at the Fine Gael launch on Thursday night in Abbeyleix and 50-60 at the Sinn Féin one in Portlaoise almost two weeks ago, albeit also on a midweek evening.
Despite not being the power they once were, with the same volume of seats at either local or national level, Fianna Fáil still have considerable roots in local communities across the country.
In Laois, they have 52 local branches, which is more than the number of GAA clubs. They are running 11 candidates across the three Municipal Districts in this election. Fine Gael have eight, Sinn Féin have seven. Labour and the Greens have three apiece.
With a strong tradition of party gatherings, they have a support base to tap into for occasions like this.
Before the meeting started at all, there was live music from Joe Laffan and the refreshments were served before any speech was made: chicken goujons and cocktail sausages offered up by hotel proprietor Seosaimh Murphy – himself a former Local Election candidate and whose family have been strong party supporters for decades.
They were in no rush to get proceedings underway either. It was near 10pm before the formalities began, almost an hour and a half after the official start time.
Laois Fianna Fáil chairman and Director of Elections Joe Dunne introduced the 11 candidates, who come from every corner of the county and said the party are “very pleased with the variety and quality of candidates … offering youth and experience”.
Currently they have six councillors out of 19 in Laois County Council – the lowest number in their history – but those six all pulled in big votes in 2019 and European candidate and current Laois-Offaly TD Barry Cowen, the special guest on the night, says they should be aiming “to go from six to eight”.
Laois TD Sean Fleming went a step further, saying “there is a real opportunity to pick up a seat in each electoral area”. “We have six outstanding councillors who all have outstanding track records,” he added.
“We expect and hope – though you can never take anything for granted – to pick up a seat in each electoral area.
“We have never been as well prepared. We’ve been knocking on doors for weeks now and the response we’ve been getting has been good because people know Fianna Fáil have a track record of delivering.
“We have the strongest selection of candidates ever,” added Sean Fleming. “Other parties struggled to get people to run for them. We didn’t.”
The six current Fianna Fáil councillors are spread equally across the three districts. Paschal McEvoy and Padraig Fleming in Graiguecullen-Portarlington. Catherine Fitzgerald and John Joe Fennelly in Portlaoise and Seamus McDonald and Paddy Bracken in Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick.
They’re joined by five other hopefuls. Joey Kennedy in Portarlington, who at 19 is one of the youngest candidates in the country. Pakistan native Naeem Iqbal in Portlaoise. And in the Borris-Mountmellick area, they have three additional candidates for a five-strong team in total in that sprawling district.
Declan Goode from Clonaslee was unsuccessful on his first attempt five years ago and goes again while Fintan Cuddy from Castletown and Brian Phelan from Rathdowney – whose father Brendan lost his seat as independent in 2019 but who had previously been a councillor for the party from 2002 to 2014 – are first time candidates harbouring strong ambitions.
Incidentally, sitting councillor Catherine Fitzgerald, who was first elected in 1999 and has come through five successful campaigns, is their only female candidate. While we’re playing the comparison game, Fine Gael have two out of eight and Sinn Féin have four out of seven.
With it now being election season, some of the key phrases you’ll hear plenty about over the next six or seven weeks were thrown out too, chief among them being ‘preferences’, ‘transfers’ and ‘eliminations’.
Sean Fleming got into the fine detail of it. “Traditionally there was a thing of people voting 1, 2, 3, 4 for Fianna Fáil and then leaving it at that. Now we have to think of it in reverse when we’re on the door steps.
“If you’re being told you’re not getting someone’s Number 1 vote, then use the phrase ‘give me some preference’. In Portlaoise there will be nearly 20 candidates. There will be 12 or 13 candidates eliminated before the last seat is filled.
“Preferences 8s, 9s, 10s and 11s will elect that last candidate. Those votes will come into play. We wouldn’t have been as strong on this before but that Number 13 vote, if all the other 12 before it were eliminated, is as good as a Number 1. It’s worth the same.”
In a wide-ranging address, Fleming touched on a number of big local topics, drawing attention to Fianna Fáil achievements, both historically and those of a more recent vintage.
Fianna Fáil led Ireland into the EU (then the EEC) in 1973, he told the meeting; prior to that Fianna Fáil introduced free education.
“Those two things were totally transformative,” he said. “The reason we have 400,000 people working here in foreign companies who we have welcomed into Ireland is because we have a highly-educated workforce.
“Fianna Fáil build houses – we built no houses in this country when Fianna Fáil were out of power. In Laois we had Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien here this week to officially open new housing schemes. The only problem, there have been so many in recent years, was that he couldn’t open them all in the same day.
“An ESRI report shows that per capita, there have been more houses built in Laois in recent years than anywhere else in the country.
“One party has voted against every single measure in the Dáil to help people buy houses,” he said in reference to Sinn Féin, though he didn’t name them.
“Every child in Laois attending primary school will have access to a free hot meal next year,” he added. “There are free books for everyone up to Junior Cert. Fianna Fáil has always placed a huge emphasis on education.”
This election, he says, is the first time he can remember where “the future of Portlaoise Hospital isn’t an issue”. “The future of Portlaoise Hospital is secure for our lifetime and beyond.
“There is a €15 million extension under construction now. There is 900 full-time staff in the hospital – record numbers.
“I know there are still waiting lists in some areas but there has been huge improvements.
“Mountmellick Hospital is secure for generations to come. There are 20 people in Abbeyleix Hospital. That, too, is a record number.
“Don’t be shy about saying these things on the doorsteps.”
Barry Cowen, who is contesting the European Elections on the same day as the Locals on June 7, implored the candidates to “show the electorate the work you have done”.
“You are councillors and candidates of, from and for your communities. We are a party of scale and we can go from six seats to eight – let’s be in a position to create momentum for the next General Election by improving our position of strength in the councils.”
He hit out at Sinn Féin and the independents and the narrative that they meet the desire for those who say “we want change”. “Sinn Féin and the independents wouldn’t be able to agree what gate of Leinster House to go in through, never mind even agree a room to sit down and talk.”
He acknowledged that “migration is an issue” and that the response hasn’t “been fair or firm enough” but he also spoke of the long history of Irish people leaving this country and “making a huge impact across the world”. “The success of our economy depends on 20% of foreign nationals”.
In addition he strongly criticised immigration agitators: “people with hatchets in their pockets and balaclavas”. “We have long gotten rid of those days … I’m not going to be told by those lads who can be called a patriot.”
Cowen is seeking to win back a seat for Fianna Fáil in the 15-county Midlands Northwest constituency and was offered full support by his Dáil constituency colleague Sean Fleming.
Welcoming Liam Hyland and family members of the late Paddy Lalor, two Laois men who represented Ireland as MEPs, Fleming said that neither would have been elected without the support of their Fianna Fáil colleagues in Offaly and the backing they got from the Cowens and the likes of Ger Connolly, another former TD.
“It is a credit to the Fianna Fáil party that we have someone of Barry Cowen’s calibre to run for Europe. Here in Laois we will do what Offaly did for us and fully support Barry and ensure he is elected an MEP and Fianna Fáil regain the seat.”
“Come out canvass,” urged Fleming in his parting words. “I look forward to your support on June 7 and a great victory for Fianna Fáil in the Local and European Elections.”
And with that they posed for a group photo. The countdown to polling day is well and truly on. And Fianna Fáil are hellbent on showing that they still pack a serious punch.
SEE ALSO – Check out all our 2024 Local Election coverage here
