Absentee ballots: The missing contenders who could be key
A CURIOUS facet of this General Election in Kerry is that it is three names that are not on the ballot that could prove a deciding factor in where the final seats go.
Just a year ago the destination of Kerry’s five seats looked easy to call with the Healy-Rae brothers; Sinn Féin; Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil all looking likely to keep their seats.
Save for a change in Sinn Féin personnel, most observers expected little change, and for election count fans Kerry – though a five seater – looked like it was set to be a little dreary and predictable.
How things change and how quickly a race can be thrown wide open.
Arguably the biggest shock of the 2020 Dáil campaign came all the way back in June of last year.
Sinn Féin Councillor Toiréasa Ferris shocked her party and political rivals with the stunning news that she would be withdrawing from the race and would not be fighting for her father Martin’s seat.
As one of Kerry’s best-known, popular, articulate and adept politicians Toiréasa had been seen as a shoo-in for the Dáil and a racing certainty to finish towards the top of the poll.
While her replacement on the Sinn Féin ticket Cllr Pa Daly has a good shout of taking a seat for the party Cllr Ferris’ departure blew the race wide open. In particular it appeared to embolden Fianna Fáil, who added Tralee’s Norma Foley to their ticket.
The race in Tralee will have a major bearing on how Kerry plays out, and the battle between Daly and Foley in the county capital will be hugely significant.
The absence of Labour from the race in Kerry has amazed many observers and potentially opened more doors for the other parties.
The fact that for the first time in 87 years Labour won’t have a candidate in Kerry is nothing short of stunning and a clear sign of just how far the party has fallen locally and nationally.
Right up until the last minute Labour HQ had hoped to convince Terry O’Brien to represent them, but the veteran Tralee councillor, after much consideration, opted against a second Dáil contest.
Cllr O’Brien contested the 2007 General Election for Labour. His bid was unsuccessful but he finished with a hefty 7,282 votes, and his presence on the ballot would have made the key race in Tralee even more intriguing.
Another notable absentee is Killarney’s Cllr Michael Gleeson.
The Kerry Independent Alliance councillor – a former Labour Party member who quit the party in the early ‘90s – was widely expected to run and was considering entering the race right up until the final deadline for nominations.
Cllr Gleeson is a proven vote-winner with a rock-solid support base in Killarney, and at the General Election in 2011, he pulled in 7,037 votes, comfortably overcoming Fianna Fáil’s John O’Donoghue and Labour’s Marie Moloney.
With no local candidate in Killarney, Cllr Gleeson would have had the town to himself and picked up significant backing. As it stands Killlarney is an electoral no man’s land with thousands of votes up for grabs.