‘Creative tensions’ of two unoff icial Labour candidates for Seanad seat
AN INTERNAL spat between two unofficial Labour party candidates vying for the vacant Trinity Seanad seat is threatening leader Alan Kelly’s hopes of another byelection boost in the capital.
Although there are no ‘official’ party candidates in the race, there are two perceived Labour candidates.
One is Ursula Quill, the former secretarial assistant to Ivana Bacik, whose Dublin Bay South by-election victory last summer led to the current Seanad vacancy. The other is Eoin Barry, a Laois-based social worker and family therapist.
And according to party sources, ‘creative tensions’ have broken out between the two camps.
One source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Eoin is seen to be the leadership man, a nice country fellow, while Ursula is closer to the Ivana, Portobello chic, posh Dublin liberal set.’
Another party figure said: ‘There is no doubt the Kelly wing of the party have a strong preference for Eoin. There is a sense that Ivana is already getting far too big for her boots. A lot of muttering has started about the absence of a Labour surge. Another win for the sisterhood, even if it is only in the Seanad, would put Ivana in the box seat should an alternative be needed for Alan.
‘Kelly finds himself in a curious position. The current bosses would
Nine of the candidates are women
much prefer the country lad, Eoin. But in the absence of that, he will take the win if Ms Quill can deliver.’
Meanwhile, another party leader, the Greens’ Eamon
Ryan, will be hoping the byelection can help to rid him of a potentially troublesome constituency rival – former Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu.
The ballot papers for the most colourful constituency in the Oireachtas went out last Friday and the Trinity graduate electorate of 65,000 have five weeks to make up their minds about a crowded field of no fewer than 17 candidates.
In a rare example of gender equality in action, nine of the candidates are women, with Ms Chu and Ms Quill expected to pose the biggest challenge to early favourite Hugo MacNeill.
It is believed the most highprofile candidate, Hazel Chu, has secured what one source described as ‘the wintry neutrality’ of the Green Party hierarchy.
The source told the MoS: ‘It’s not that the leadership wants her to succeed but it would be nice to put her in a Seanad box for 20 years.’
Ms Chu, a constituency colleague of her party leader, has had a turbulent relationship with Mr Ryan after she secured a record 4,069 first-preferences out of 12,598 votes in his heartland
Having become the first Irishborn person of Chinese descent to be called to the Irish bar, and the first person of Chinese ethnicity to be mayor of a European capital, Ms Chu told the MoS: ‘It would be an honour and a privilege if Trinity and DIT, as part of building a more inclusive society, were to put their faith in me.’
Ms Chu’s candidacy is part of a long tradition in which Trinity has supplied the Seanad with colourful, independent-minded candidates such as Shane Ross and David Norris.
Although there will be disappointment that Mr Ross did not attempt a political comeback by contesting his old seat again, and that fallen Fine Gael golden girl Kate O’Connell decided not to run, there is still a variegated field.
There are no ‘mere’ party-political candidates although, like their semi-detached predecessor Ivana Bacik, several have links to Labour, Fine Gael, the Green Party, and the Social Democrats. None of the candidates has a connection to either Fianna Fáil or Sinn Féin.
The field includes former ambassadors, at least two psychologists, life coaches, advocates for social inclusion and diversity, philanthropists, writers, family therapists, Goldman Sachs grandees, law school professors, army whistleblowers, and barristers.
The initial favourite (and unofficial Fine Gael candidate) is Hugo MacNeill, who is described in election literature as a consultant involved in the nonprofit sector.
The former rugby international, who once worked for Goldman Sachs and is the husband of rising Fine Gael star Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, faces an intriguing battle with some of the female favourites to capture the Trinity crown.
Apart from Mr MacNeill and Ms Chu, many believe that Ursula Quill, the long-term assistant to former Trinity senators Sean Barrett and Ivana Bacik, could be a strong contender.
‘Ursula will fight the ground war’
One source noted: ‘Hazel and Hugo can fight the air war. Ursula will fight the ground war. She has been looking after the interests of Trinity for a decade now.’
Amid early internal murmurings about the Labour leader being ‘Mr 4% man’, a victory for Ms Quill could throw Mr Kelly a second lifeline after his welcome but short-lived ‘Bacik Boost’ in last year’s Dublin Bay South contest.
And in another interesting development, former Green MEP Patricia McKenna has also thrown her hat into the ring.
Ms McKenna bravely declared that she is determined to dissolve the ‘echo chambers’ and reform the Seanad from within.
Other high-profile candidates include prominent psychologist Maureen Gaffney and writer Gisèle Scanlon, author of lifestyle books The Goddess Guide and The Goddess Experience.
Barrister Ade Oluborode has also announced her intention to run as an Independent candidate, advocating for a more inclusive society.
Other contenders for the seat include Ray Bassett, former ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas, who is running as an Independent candidate, and retired Army captain and writer Tom Clonan, also Independent.