Martin returns to fold with bumper Independent vote
THE Independent candidate in Macroom, Martin Coughlan, admitted to knocking on “about 5,500 doors” during his election campaign. And those who answered did in their spades at the ballot box as he collected a first preference vote of 1,666.
There was an added slice of pride for him as his 18-year-old grand daughter, Michaela Riordan cast her first ever vote which was, of course, for her grandad.
Reversing backwards to 2014, when the long standing Labour candidate lost his seat, he readily acknowledged to knowing how it is to both win and lose an election.
However, this time around he ran as an Independent candidate after being with the Labour party for just shy of four decades.
Why did he make the decision to run as an Independent?
“I have been out of politics for five years after losing my seat but I never stopped working in the community and within the town of Macroom – and there were so many people who said to me since Christmas that, if I stood as an Independent candidate, they would come out and support me and that is what the people did,” said the newly elected councillor.
He said he was in the Labour party for 40 years and he could remember going out canvassing with his father.
“I stood for the Labour party in Macroom when we had no seat at any level and I won a town council seat and brought another candidate in with me and I went on to win a council seat. I even missed a Dáil seat by something like 250 votes so the Labour party is still in my heart and it will never be taken out of it, but I would not have succeeded this time around with the Labour ticket. I knew I could succeed with an independent ticket and an independent voice and here I am,” he said.
Mr Coughlan was elected on the marathon 10th count at County Hall on Sunday evening and as he had reached the quota of 2,474, his surplus of 213 was then distributed between Eileen Lynch (FG), Ted Lucey (FG) and Aine Collins (FG). This resulted in both first time runner, Eileen Lynch and Cllr Ted Lucey getting over the line.
While many councillors were scathing of the boundary shake up being gobbled up by Cork City Council, Mr Coughlan felt it would bring about “a big opportunity for Macroom.
“I see a big opportunity now that Ballincollig has gone into the city and I think the County Council will have to focus more on Macroom, Millstreet and the bigger towns – I feel that over the years that we were left behind. When I went out to Ballincollig, I’d see Cork County Council’s gardening services out doing beautiful work and we were left to struggle in Macroom, so I see huge opportunity in the future,” he said.
While council meetings in Macroom are some months away, he already has a list drawn up to get works done.
“It really annoyed me that when we had a Town Council in Macroom, we had seven staff employed and now we have just two working on the ground in Macroom. That is the first bee in my bonnet, to get in there and to start roaring for more staff as we need more staff on the ground,” he said.
He thanked all his hard working canvassing team and played a huge tribute to the Tidy Towns in Macroom which he said ensures that the “weeds don’t grow over the houses in the Macroom”.
When asked about the issues on the doorstep, he said broadband kept popping up along with “smaller issues such as roads.”