He spoke the truth about what is really going on... Welcome to Casey Country
‘OH, you know why,’ was the reply in a soft voice with a hint of laughter, when asked why Co Longford had voted overwhelmingly for Peter Casey in the presidential elections. ‘We are overcrowded and that is why. I was impressed by Casey’s frankness.’
Anne O’Reilly’s comments were echoed by many people the Irish Mail On Sunday spoke to on the streets of Longford this week – a town that has the second-highest numbers of Travellers in the country after Tuam in Co. Galway, according to the 2016 Census.
Across Co. Longford, the people voted for Casey in their droves.
According to a cross-section of boxes from the count, 37.41% of the Irish electorate sided with the former Dragons’ Den investor, as opposed to the 37.19% who backed Michael D. Higgins, reported the Longford Leader newspaper.
Boxes in Clondra, Moyne and Killoe saw Mr Casey attract almost double the vote of his nearest rival.
‘There were similarly notable scalps for the Irish-American tycoon in the likes of Ballinamuck, Newtownforbes, Drumlish and Stonepark,’ the paper reported. Another woman told of her annoyance at the situation in Tipperary where a group of Travellers turned down high quality housing.
‘Our house was mostly Casey voters,’ said Maura Flynn. ‘I never got anything for nothing in my life. I’ve been working since I was 16.
‘Imagine if someone had given me a house and I turned around and said: “Hey, I want an acre for my horse.” We’d all like our scone with jam and a nice big dollop of cream on it if we could get it, but life isn’t like that.’ Ms Flynn added her son had travelled home from Dublin to vote for Casey.
‘He said “Absolutely” he was voting for Casey,’ she said. ‘I thought, a breath of fresh air. I was drawn to him. I thought Michael D had his day and Casey just appealed to me. I really liked him. Someone who speaks their mind and it lands them in trouble, even if it is the truth.’
A woman in her early 20s declared that ‘everyone I know’ voted for Casey. ‘He spoke the truth, like. He gave a very clear image of what is going on in this world,’ said Amy McCoppin. ‘My
family backed him too. It’s a sickener he didn’t get it.’ She was also angered by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appealing to people not to vote for Casey.
‘When Leo said not to vote for him it was horrible and people did go mad about it,’ she added.
Other people freely gave their views on why Casey attracted a high vote, but were reluctant to be named – and none wanted to be pictured.
One woman spoke of the divide between the Traveller and settled community, pointing to armed gardaí patrolling a First Holy Communion earlier this year.
The MoS reported last May how smiling children making their way into St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford town appeared blissfully unaware of the potential threat of violence resulting from a Traveller feud.
‘I voted for Michael D last time, but would certainly not have voted for him this time,’ she said. ‘Peter Casey said what we think. Rural areas are more affected by Travellers. That might sound discriminatory but it is still the truth. I voted for him because of what he said, knowing he wouldn’t be president.’
Another woman who only wanted to be referred to as Maura, told how she gave Casey her ‘No.2’ because ‘he spoke quite sensibly’. ‘Look around you and you might see why,’ she said. ‘When I saw him first I thought he was crackers but when he started to talk, he spoke quite sensibly. He was saying what people are thinking, especially around here.
‘We have an awful lot of Travellers, there are good and bad. It’s like the Church and the clergy, you can’t blame them all.’
Rita, who also did not want to reveal her surname, told how she ‘absolutely did not’ vote for Casey, and warned of ‘latent prejudices not too far from the surface’.
‘I’d say [the reason for the large vote] because there is quite a high percentage of Travellers in Longford and sometimes in some areas they do cause quite a lot of trouble,’ she added. ‘There is a certain faction.’
For the Traveller organisation, Pavee Point, a vote for Casey on an entirely anti-Traveller sentiment is hard to stomach – and believe.
Director Martin Collins told the MoS: ‘There is no doubt that his antiTraveller racism did garner some public support and I do not doubt that he got some votes on that basis.
‘Even political analysts would not be able to quantify what number of votes he received on the basis of his anti-Traveller racism because he made comments about a whole range of other subjects, such as the welfare state and unemployed people, and middle Ireland not being listened to, which might have resonated with other people.’
But he too recognised the divisions that exist where there is a high Traveller population, like Rathkeale. ‘We have called for mediation there or some sort of initiative to develop better relationships because they have to find a way of co-existing.’
‘He was saying what people are thinking’