All to play for now in the south
Deputy John O'Donoghue being interviewed by reporters Tim Vaughan (left) and Pascal Sheehy after his election to the Dáil in 1987. Credit: Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin
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Wednesday October 14 2009
WHILE Dáil-watchers have been gorging on Ken Foxe's scripts in The Sunday Tribune, back in Kerry South the fall-out from John O'Donoghue's toppling is slowly being pieced together.
With a three-seater constituency now firmly back on the agenda, the south of the county could soon be writing its own scripts, as the fight for Dáil seats suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting.
With Eamon Gilmore ruthlessly calling for the Ceann Comhairle's head in the high noon showdown and Enda Kenny following suit, the opposition's newly-found backbone could mean that Deputy O'Donoghue will be dusting down those posters and brushing up on his canvassing skills sooner rather than later.
It's a fight he will certainly relish – after all, the silence was deafening. But while councillors Paul O'Donoghue, Michael Cahill and Senator Mark Daly may have fancied their chances of picking up the Fianna Fáil nomination in a two-horse race, the move back to a threeseater will have certainly dampened those aspirations.
Following a very public humiliation, local support for the former Ceann Comhairle is still as strong as ever, particularly in the south west. There's a sense of circling the wagons and all guns blazing – after all, the home town hero has done nothing wrong. It's a sentiment that will gather momentum once further government expenses are revealed and it seems that the vultures have a taste for Mary Harney.
There's no question that the Cahersiveen man will retain his Dáil seat and with a wide margin for error, he's likely to top the poll. Bringing a second Fianna Fáil seat with him is the problem, as Tom Fleming knows all too well. Last time out Fleming pulled in 1,000 more votes than both Tom Sheahan and Jackie Healy Rae, yet he was easily trumped on preferences . . . twice. With the government increasingly under fire, Fianna Fáil's dream double (last achieved with O'Donoghue and John O'Leary in November 1992) is as distant as ever.
Depending on Deputy Tom Sheahan's Dail performances, Fine Gael should be a strong favourite for seat two, with Cllr Brendan Griffin eyeing up votes in the west. Labour will have a say here too, though, especially if Gilmore keeps on the offensive.
And that leaves the Healy Rae dynasty, the one that broke up the FF double in 1997. Criticised locally for joining in with the grave dance, the Healy Raes are the big winners following yesterday's speech. Primed for the seat following his father's announcement that this Dáil is his last, Michael Healy Rae had made no secret of the fact that a three-seater is ideal for the Kilgarvan men. Yet he refutes suggestions that he was baying for blood.
"We're certainly facing a more even playing field now. It's unfair, though, to say that I was out to get him," he commented on Tuesday. "I was asked to comment by the radio stations and I spoke about the expensive lunch but at all time I was balanced. There's no mention of the fact that I praised John O'Donoghue extensively."
It all makes for interesting times ahead in Kerry South. Whatever happens, John O'Donoghue will live to fight another day.
- KEVIN HUGHES khughes@kerryman.ie
