Ahead of the Local Elections in June, our reporter Tiernan Donovan spoke with Marie Tuohy, the Labour candidate in Portlaoise seeking to hold the seat initially won by her husband Noel. She was ultimately successful.
Fourteen months have passed since Laois Labour Cllr Noel Tuohy delivered his final address to his fellow Councillors, marking a formal end to his almost nine-year tenure on the County Council, in addition to 30 years of public service as a prison officer and trade union leader in Portlaoise Prison.
Accompanied by his family, the retiring Councillor bid farewell, citing health reasons as he prepared to return to London to receive further treatment for Parkinson’s Disease.
Among those family members, by his side, was his wife of 43 years, Marie Tuohy, who, just weeks prior, had been co-opted by the local Labour Party to succeed him in the position.
In April, Cllr Tuohy officially launched her campaign to retain the seat for the party, her first electoral endeavour as a contender herself.
In her remarks, the still newly-appointed Councillor emphasised the word “community” as a central tenet to her approach to her role as a candidate and a public servant.
Preceding all of this, she had been employed as a receptionist in the Laois Leisure Centre for over 12 years, before the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns resulted in the business ceasing operations and the company disbanding.
“So through that, I suppose, I met a lot of people,” Tuohy acknowledged.
Outside of her work at the front desk, Cllr Tuohy had involved herself in a number of local organisations, which she and Noel often participated in together as a team.
Cllr Tuohy said: “Going back as far as 1994, we were founder members of Victim Support,” which operated for ten years, “and it was all voluntary. There was probably one paid position in it at the time.”
The Councillor acknowledged that this form of grassroots work served to refine the kinds of skills and characteristics that she would attribute to an effective public servant.
“I think it kind of serves you better, if you like, or if you have a fuller understanding of politics, let’s say, if you’ve been involved in the various organisations that are trying to make things a bit better,” she explained.
Cllr Tuohy did not stand in the previous round of Local Elections and has never sought public office in her life, meaning that she faces the unique challenge of seeking a public mandate without an electoral track record behind her, a situation that is shared only with Fine Gael’s Barry Walsh, who was co-opted in 2022.
“So I am as yet unelected,” she maintained.
“I am running in this local election coming up in June. So that will be a new experience for me. While I’ve seen it from the other side, it’s quite different when you’re the person.”
In spite of her central role within Noel’s campaigns, as well as her experience working alongside a number of local organisations and public action committees, she had otherwise never served in a position like this.
Naturally, such a dramatic shift in circumstances can be daunting for someone who has predominantly observed from the sidelines.
“It’s just like starting a new job. So it’s just finding how things are done and the processes and who to go to make an inquiry,” she reflected.
Being catapulted into public service under such extraordinary circumstances can also exact its toll.
Tuohy acknowledged that her first day in office was “quite emotional”, and that her first impression of the chamber itself was “quite a daunting place, initially.”
However, she emphasised: “I want to stay true to myself and just be myself. So I just think it’s all about people, about interacting with people and how you deal with them.”
The Councillor expressed that she doesn’t regard her fellow candidates as competition, who, upon her appointment, praised her as a “formidable lady”, a “friend”, and somebody whom they were “delighted” to welcome.
With respect to her fellow Councillors, who are also vying for election in Portlaoise, she stated: “I think currently there are 19 people declared for seven seats – and it’s strange – you don’t look ahead.
“It doesn’t change how I view the people that I interact with in the Council.”
She also clarified: “You know, we’re saying to each other, how are you doing? What are you finding the issues are? And, you know, how are you feeling?”
When it came to the issues affecting voters, Cllr. Tuohy had honed in on housing in particular, delivering an emphatic stance in her official campaign launch in April: “It’s time for the Council to get back to basics and build Council houses.”
When asked to clarify her position on this issue, she provided some context: “The decisions that were taken a number of years ago, that took control of building houses out of the hands of the Council.
“I do firmly believe that … it’s a shame that that system ever was disbanded.
“I do think that I would love to see that [council housing] model coming back in.
“I think it will be the way to tackle the housing crisis. And it does really form relationships and form communities.”
Tuohy’s 34-year-old son, Zach, had attracted the attention of Australian Rules Football recruiters from the Carlton Football Club in the AFL, based in Melbourne, over 15 years ago, and having achieved remarkable success, passing his trials with flying colours, and signing a contract with the team, he opted to remain the country and has done so ever since.
With more and more young people opting to emigrate abroad in pursuit of greater opportunities or out of economic necessity, this is only a unique example of an increasingly common scenario for Irish families.
Cllr. Tuohy recognised that the Council can play a role in incentivising young professionals to remain at home: “It’s all about work. I mean, obviously, it’s about work and decent paid employment.
“We’re in a situation now where, you know, you need a workforce, we’ll say, of twenty people, if you are starting a business, and they’re coming in from outside.
“They’re not living at home, we’ll say, locally … They probably wouldn’t be in a position to put themselves forward to buy a house.”
“So, I think a lot of people like Zach was in a fortunate position, really, like he went with the security of knowing that he was going to work, that he had a place to stay, he would be looked after.
“Whereas a lot of young people go just looking for something.
“I’m all in favour of your couple of years travelling and the experience, and that’s wonderful, but the idea of emigrating to get yourself better paid employment, get yourself a home, I think it’s sad.”
In October of last year, Tuohy acknowledged having a “special interest in services and amenities for those with disabilities and the most vulnerable in our society and especially including a focus on mental health services.”
In terms of what the Council has done and can do for these communities, the Councillor stated: “They will take on board now a small thing, like, I asked for pen readers to be put into the libraries, you know, that also could be borrowed, you know, for two or three days at a time for a student to see or parents to see if this works before they have to go to the expense if they want to bind it themselves.”
She also stated, with regard to what she has done: “Finally, we have a SOSAD service in place, 24-hour, 24/7 helpline, free counselling, completely discretionary.”
The Councillor has also advocated for making Portlaoise an ‘autism-friendly’ town: “Autism-friendly parking spaces, reduced noise, a designated shopping time … reduce noise, have a staff member with basic awareness around the needs or basic awareness around service dogs … picture menus and cafes. Very little, very little — Things that are easily achievable.”
Tuohy highlighted her involvement in promoting care services: “They have a role in publicising things, let’s say, creating awareness, bringing relevant agencies together that may be able to achieve something.
“Meals and Wheels is an example at the moment, I’m working on.
“There have been no Meals and Wheels service in Portlaoise for maybe four years.
“Again, not the remit of the council, but they have very effectively, over the course of four meetings, brought relevant agencies together and only last week we had the national coordinator of Meals and Wheels, and some staff down and other agencies.
“So now, the process, the wheels are moving.”
In terms of mental health, Cllr. Tuohy expressed alarm with the issue of suicide in particular.
She said: “I just think with mental health, I mean, just a high suicide rate in the country.
“The Midlands rate is particularly high. I don’t think there’s any family or anybody that hasn’t been affected in some way by a suicide. It may not be directly in your family. It’s your neighbour, it’s your friend’s friend, it’s the person down the road. It’s just the ripples from suicide are just so extensive.”
Tuohy argues that those serving in a public capacity have a responsibility to support people grappling with mental health issues.
“If you’re a County Councillor … within your your district. within your county, you’re in a position where you can highlight issues, where you can look for funding, where you can search for funding streams, where you can bring, as I’ve said so many times now in the last few minutes, you can bring agencies together, you can make things happen, and that’s your duty, I think everything that happens revolves around people.”
Just under a year ago, Cllr. Tuohy referred to the health service as ‘in disarray’, and today, she maintains that outlook.
She revealed: “I know from hearing people going to any in Portlaoise that seven, eight hour wait is quite normal. Let’s say it’s just not right, but it’s nothing got to do with the staff. Staff are full throttle. They’re under severe pressure.”
In response to Friends of Portlaoise Hospital’s appeal for financial support, she argued: “I don’t think that a member of the public or any members of the public should be having the fundraise for basic hospital equipment, be they MRIs or whatever, whatever type of equipment just does not make sense. That should be under the HSE, the Department of Health. It shouldn’t become a fight for local people to say, oh, we need such a machine here or a portable whatever.”
The County Council previously agreed to send a letter to the Minister of Health, which addressed the concerns of waiting times in the accident and emergency department at Portlaoise Hospital.
Cllr Tuohy regards such measures as a source of pressure on the central government: “It’s a certain point for anything to happen, because the government would have to listen, would have to say if it’s getting enough correspondence or getting enough demands from Councillors and councils across the country, we have to do something about this.”
The Councillor outlined one possible solution: “We had a Midlands health board in our district. In our area, you had somebody that, I believe, could actually come in or would come into a Council meeting, could ask questions directly to you, had more of a contact, you had more contact, it was more local, you had, there was somebody there that had to be accountable.”
“I think we were better with our health boards. It was more likely that we got things done,” she concluded.
Last year, the County Council rejected a proposal to introduce live-streamed meetings to the public, an idea that Cllr. Tuohy supported.
“I just think it’s logical. I should be able to look at it. You know, as I said on the day, you can live stream a funeral. What is the, what could be more personal or private or than a funeral? Why can’t you live stream a meeting?“, she contended.
“The cost is quite low in real terms. In one of the city councils in Dublin, the estimated cost was about twenty-five-thousand a year, which in the greater scheme of things is not huge money. And it should be. It is the people’s Council chamber. So if this matters, if ten people logged in or if a thousand people logged in, it should be available.“
When asked to reflect on her past fourteen months of public service, Cllr. Tuohy said: “I think I’ve achieved the objectives I had in mind. A lot of the work that Noel had started, as I said, you know.”
Cllr. Tuohy spearheaded several impactful initiatives during her tenure, including the establishment of a community dog park that had been in development for seven years.
“The dog park, for instance, it’s seven years in the making, but we’re promised.
“I know in my heart that I’ve worked hard. I have done my best in every area. I enjoy dealing with people. I actually enjoy it.
“I remain true to my core principles of being honest and just being myself and being a voice. I’m very conscious about being a voice for people who are very often not heard, because for whatever reasons, like especially, those with autism. I view that like it’s a big part of my role.
“I have searched for those areas and those people and those groups. There are so many voluntary groups that do so much. You couldn’t pay people to do it. And they’re doing it willingly. They’re not looking for any notice.”
The Councillor also implied that most voters are simply too preoccupied with their families and careers to pay much thought towards the upcoming Local Elections: “Most people actually, will you believe, are not talking too much. But I think part of that is that people are so busy. And I’m knocking on your door at six o’clock or quarter past six. You’re just in the door, maybe just in the door from work. You have children coming in, you’re trying to get the tea, you’re bringing someone to sports.”
However, she did acknowledge two issues that stood out: “Aside from all that, housing is the big one, and health. Housing and health. Housing more so. Because everybody is somehow affected by it, or everybody has a teenager, an adult, a child’s son, daughter, who are in a situation where, like we’ve discussed earlier, where are they going to get house? Where are they going to get a home? They can’t even get a house to rent. So housing is huge. It’s probably the biggest one, followed by health. You know, access to GPs, school places, those will be the three things.”
Tuohy also remarked about how confident she is in her chances ahead of the local elections: “I genuinely try not to think that far ahead.”
She reflected: “I would have been very anxious in Noel’s time, you know, when all was running as well. You can’t take anything for granted. You just can’t.
“I would be hoping, and I would dearly love to be returned.
“And I feel, in one sense, I have my apprenticeship done!”, she joked.
“I’d be confident in my ability. I’m confident in the energy I’ve put into it, let’s say, in the last fifteen months. But it’s out of my hands then. But I just will, I go back to my mantra: I will be me,” Tuohy remarked.
In terms of her future, Cllr. Tuohy dismissed any prospect of seeking higher office, unlike her husband Noel, who sought to represent Laois-Offaly in the 2020 General Election.
“Absolutely not,” she affirmed.
“I’m happy. I’m very comfortable in my own community. I would have no aspirations at all. At any stage in my life, I would have had no aspirations. I am a local kind of person. And that’s where I’ve spent most of my life. That’s where my interest is. That’s really what I care about is my local issues.“
When asked to follow up on the kind of candidates she would hope to see running for Laois in the next general election, she maintained: “Whoever is running, I would hope that they would absolutely prioritise Laois, prioritise the needs of the county, and be very, very vocal about it.
“If you have a powerful voice, I think great things can happen, you know, to look after your own country.”
Cllr. Tuohy’s closing message for voters was simple: “Go out and vote. Use your vote. It’s a privilege to have it, really.
“It’s your chance to have an input.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a cold day or rainy day.
“Use your vote. And vote for me!”
SEE ALSO – Check out all our top stories from our 2024 Remembered series here
