‘Are you in or out?’ - Cllr O’Shea puts it up to Cahill
Bitter row breaks out in South Kerry Fianna Fáil ranks over voting in recent area AGM
FIANNA Fáil councillor Michael Cahill could be facing a sanction from Fianna Fail HQ after he failed to support a party colleague for the position of vice-chairman of the South and West Municipal District at its recent AGM.
Cllr Cahill has been accused of breaking the party oath after he proposed Independent councillor Dan McCarthy for the position which his party colleague, Cllr Mike O’Shea, had also been nominated for.
Cllr O’Shea says that, based on the voting pact made following the local elections in 2014, the position should have been his. Cllr O’Shea has now lodged an official complaint with FF HQ about Cllr Cahill’s actions.
“I was chairman in the first year of the agreement so it my turn to be vice chairman. He (Cllr Cahill) should not have voted against me,” said Cllr O’Shea.
Fianna Fáil Cllr Norma Moriarty, who was elected the new chairman of South and West at the AGM, had proposed Cllr Mike O’Shea for vice-chair. Three other candidates were also nominated leading to the eventual victor being chosen from a hat.
“When you join FF you sign an oath of allegiance to the party and he has broken that oath. He wants to reap the rewards of FF when he wants, and when it is for his own personal gain he can leave the party. He should decide if he is in or out,” Cllr O’Shea said.
Cllr O’Shea says that the vicechair position, which does not attract extra money, is vital to raise his profile following the proposed electoral boundary changes which will see him lose 1,300 potential votes in his tradional base.
Cllr Cahill, however, said that he proposed Cllr Dan McCarthy in the interest of fairness and claimed that the move did not in any way break the voting pact. He added that, in his view, Cllr O’Shea should not have put his name forward: “It was not his turn and he knows it. Who gave him the right to go again? Is there to be any fairness? He has already got more than most, he was chairman of South and West and Mayor of Kerry,” he said.
Cllr Cahill, who quit Fianna Fáil in 2011 and rejoined the party in 2016, was not a member of the Fianna Fail party when the voting pact was made .
“Everyone is delighted that Cllr McCarthy got the position even in FF,” Cllr Cahill said.
“He is very popular and noone begrudges him the posi- tion.”
Cllr Cahill said his actions do not constitute breaking the oath and slammed Cllr O’Shea’s move as ‘petty’.