Nick Rabbitts, 20 Mar
FINE Gael in Limerick is in turmoil after three of its candidates
hoping to contest the mayoral election have withdrawn in anger at the
process - with one accusing party headquarters of “ineptitude of the
highest order”.
With just 11 weeks to go until Limerick people go to the polls to elect
a mayor for the first time, Fine Gael has yet to formally select a
candidate.
Four councillors had expressed an interest in securing the party
nomination.
But now three of them - councillors Adam Teskey, John Sheahan and Liam
Galvin - have all pulled out of the process.
It leaves Cllr Daniel Butler as the only candidate whose name remains
in the mix - but he has told the Leader he doesn't know yet if he will
run.
“I have a lot of considerations as to whether I rule myself in or out.
It’s not as simple for me. I’m relatively young, I have a full-time
job, a mortgage and a young family. There’s a lot for me to think about
and it’s not as straight forward a decision as it may be for other
members of the party,” he said.
Cllr Adam Teskey, who is the leader of the Adare-Rathkeale district,
has accused Fine Gael headquarters of “ineptitude of the highest order”
around the selection.
Abbeyfeale-based Cllr Liam Galvin added: “Michael Collins would turn in
his grave if we couldn’t put a leader forward for Limerick not to mind
the country. It’s a bad indictment on Fine Gael and I’m disgusted over
it.”
They’ve argued there is not enough time to effectively campaign for the
role, while at the same time, try to get re-elected to their respective
council seats, with Cllr Teskey saying: “I will not turn my back on my
constituents in Rathkeale and Adare.
“Fine Gael emailed everyone promising a mayoral candidate by November
2023. It's now after St Patrick’s Day and nobody is in place,” he
added.
The fact that the party secured the highest share of the vote at the
2019 local election in Limerick, and it is the architects of the
legislation which has created the role of a directly elected mayor has
sharpened local criticism of the party.
Cllr Teskey said he is “furious” with the party’s hierarchy, and added:
“They’ve taken their eye off the ball. It’s farcical.”
Cllr Galvin said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and general secretary John
Carroll “need to be held to account”.
Cllr Sheahan, the party’s council leader added: “I think the party
could have been more proactive. I’m disappointed the heavy hitters in
the party including the Taoiseach did not have a more hands-on role. We
should be seen as frontrunners rather then laggards.” Fine Gael did not
return a request for comment from the Leader.
Separately, Cllr Galvin suggested Fine Gael bosses would be “quite
happy” to support local businesswoman Helen O’Donnell in her bid for
the mayoralty, given her history in the party.
The local Tidy Towns chairwoman launched her campaign as a non-party
candidate on Monday of last week.
But, only the night before, she had seconded Sean Kelly’s nomination to
re-run for the European Parliament at a convention in Clonmel.
Only after she had done this, she tendered her resignation from the
party which her late husband Tom served in government, and as an MEP
for.
There has been a backlash locally in Fine Gael circles, with Cllr
Galvin saying: “She went out of a Sunday evening as a Fine Gael member
and on Monday morning, she was an Independent. To me that doesn’t
wash.”
READ MORE: Directly elected mayor candidate says 'this is an election
that matters'
Cllr Teskey reflected these comments.
Ms O’Donnell said Mr Kelly is a friend of hers and had asked her weeks
ago to second his nomination. She said she had told him she was
planning to run as a “community candidate” in the mayoral contest, and
the MEP was happy for her to proceed.
She added she believes the role of executive mayor should be above
party politics.
Cllr Sheahan said rumours around Limerick that the popular senior
hurling boss John Kiely would possibly join the general mayoral race
also had a bearing on other candidates not going forward. Limerick will
elect a mayor on Friday, June 7, the same day as the local election.
This, says Cllr Sheahan, has “disenfranchised” members putting their
own names forward, amid the risk that placing too much of a focus on
the mayoralty could derail chances of re-election to the local
authority.