Casey? He is not like snakes in my party...
A FIANNA Fáil councillor has said that he would welcome Peter Casey into the party over some of the other ‘rats and snakes’ he claims it has in its ranks.
Former Limerick mayor Kevin Sheahan, who lives in Askeaton, Co. Limerick, where Mr Casey got a huge share of the presidential vote, has suggested the former Dragons’ Den star could make a contribution.
‘Maybe we need a few Caseys in the party,’ he said.
His comments put him on a collision course with senior Limerick Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins who was one of the first to dismiss Mr Casey’s hopes of joining the Soldiers of Destiny ‘and becoming Taoiseach’ following his comments criticising Traveller culture.
Speaking to the Week in Politics on RTÉ One in the wake of Mr Casey’s better-than-expected display, Mr Collins said Mr Casey must ‘realise that you can’t just rock up to political parties and think that you can get your way.’
But Councillor Sheahan said: ‘I wouldn’t agree with opposing Mr Casey’s desire to join any political party. I have met that man. I don’t think he would be a monster in any political party.
‘Fianna Fáil has always put its chest out and say we welcome everyone to our party. There are other rats and snakes in our party. We could do without them.’
Rural county Limerick represented the third highest constituency in terms of vote share for Mr Casey, who achieved close on 35% of the votes cast, a total of 10,865.
Councillor Sheahan said: ‘We wouldn’t be sending out a good message to young people if we started to say you can join, but you can’t. We need members in Fianna Fáil.’
Another former Limerick mayor, Fine Gael councillor Stephen Keary, has revealed he gave his first preference to Mr Casey. He also slammed his party leader, Leo Varadkar, for intervening in the debate, saying: ‘People are adults. They are wellinformed and they don’t need the taoiseach of the day to tell them who to vote for.’
Some of Mr Casey’s highest votes appeared to be in Askeaton, and Rathkeale, both known for having a higher Traveller population.
Asked if he understood why many people across west Limerick gave their first preference to Mr Casey, he said: ‘Yes. If there are issues with the different ethnic groupings and one feels they are not getting the same attention as the other then maybe that could be a part of it. People are fed up of that.’