HIGHS AND LOWS IN SLIGO AREA VOTE
‘ CHANGE’ IS MESSAGE SENT BY COUNCIL VOTERS IN THE SLIGO ELECTORAL AREA
Marcella McGarry ( Lab)
OUTGOING Mayor Marcella McGarry was among the Labour candidates to lose her seat.
She has the distinction of being the last Mayor of Sligo before the Borough Council is abolished.
This was her first attempt to obtain a seat on the county council.
Despite her high- profile position as Mayor for the past year, she received just 586 first preference votes. She was eliminated in the 11th count with 796 votes.
A clearly upset Clr McGarry declined to speak to The Sligo Champion afterwards.
There was no answer from her phone yesterday, Monday.
Thomas Healy ( SF)
” THIS ELECTION has shown people want change and they have given me the opportunity to bring about that change.”
That’s according to newly elected councillor Thomas Healy, one of the new councillors who have been swept into power on the Sinn Fein electoral surge.
The 41- year- old Collooney man added: “In 2009, when I ran and missed out by a couple of votes, I knew well there was base there to work on.”
He claims his success arises from the people’s dissatisfaction.
He said: “Water rates, property charges, other taxes, we are being asked to pay for services yet we are not receiving those services.”
Healy works for the Office of Public Works and is a foster carer.
A native of Ballygawley, he worked in London throughout the 1980s.
He has been a trainer with the Owenmore Gaels GAA Club since 2000, winning a number of titles. He was selected as Clubman of the year in 2006.
Hubert Keaney ( FG)
AT ONE stage it looked like he might lose out, but as Fine Gael’s Hubert Keaney said himself, “never write me off ”.
With a definite swing against the party, Hubert was struggling for votes and polled just 618 first preferences.
He looked a nervous man as he paced the floor of the count centre in the Clarion Hotel.
When the initial boxes were opened on Saturday he was being written off by many pundits.
However, as the count progressed transfers began to go in his favour.
After the elimination of colleague Thomas Collery late on Sunday night the picture looked much rosier for Keaney.
The Rathcormac based councillor finished up on 1,301 votes and was elected on the final count without reaching the quota.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it. I was very disappointed at my first- preference vote.
“When I was first elected in 2009 I polled 644 first preferences in an area that was smaller then. It was a peculiar election campaign.
“Being part of a Government party didn’t help but there wasn’t massive negativity on the doorstep.
“People were quietly polite as most would be but they definitely felt resentment towards the Government.
“I picked up fantastic transfers and I put this down to my campaigning.
“One problem I did have was when Joe Leonard pulled out, everyone was saying I was safe, that I didn’t need votes.”
He says there are lessons to be learned for the party locally as regards the number of candidates it had in the field.
Clr Keaney also feels it’s now time for candidates who have been critical of the main parties to “stand up” and take responsibility in the new council.
Seamus O’Boyle ( PBP)
ONE OF the biggest surprises was the election of People Before Profit candidate Seamus O'Boyle. It was that party's first local election seat to be won outside of Belfast and Dublin.
Seamus's first preference vote of 842 set him up nicely to secure victory, eventually ending up on 1,284 votes.
He was elected on the final count without reaching the quota.
Seamus is a native of Forthill, where he has lived with his wife Mairead and four children for the past 30 years. He ran at the last local election but was unsuccessful.
Seamus was reared and educated in The Nazareth House Care Centre and also attended St John’s National School.
He has taken part in several anti- austerity campaigns including protesting against the introduction of water and bin charges.
He says families are being squeezed by these extra charges and he has vowed to fight them.
A beaming People Before Profit spokesman, Brian O'Boyle said the party was thrilled with its success.
The St Angela’s College lecturer said: “It's a historic achievement. “Given the rural nature of much of the constituency meant we didn't get to canvass it all.
“So, to achieve a seat in these circumstances was a major milestone.
“Non establishment parties are making an impression and will continue to do so.”
Declan Bree ( Ind)
HE'S SLIGO'S longest serving councillor and he's back to serve another term.
It's 40 years in the council chamber for independent socialist Declan Bree.
The former Labour Party TD topped the poll in the Sligo town area.
Declan said his electoral success was a solid endorsement of his work over the past five years.
He said: “People are anxious to have representatives who question authority.
“I intend to continue to represent the people as I have done over the past 40 years.
“It's a humbling experience in many ways too, to get such support.
“The campaign itself was very worthwhile and I got a very warm reception throughout all electoral areas.
“If I wasn't getting number ones I certainly was picking up number twos and threes all over the place, it was a general endorsement.
“I didn't have a party machine like others and it's been heartening for my small team to be elected once more.
“In particular, my director of elections, Brenda Barr who has been with me since I was first elected in 1974,” he said.
He feels there will now be a core of what he called anti- austerity candidates on the new council. “This will present an opportunity for us to work together,” he said.
Clr Bree has been accused of bullying officials at meetings of the Borough Council over the past number of years.
However, he has consistently denied this accusation and says his election is proof the public want him to continue querying officials.
Donal Gilroy ( FF)
FIRST- TIME candidate Donal Gilroy of Fianna Fail was eliminated in the 13th count of the Sligo electoral area.
It was an impressive performance from the
Grange native. He praised the stellar efforts of his team throughout his campaign, particularly those based in his North Sligo area. He said that he was happy with his 885 votes. He said: “I did my best. I left nothing on the pitch.”
He thanked his team of canvassers in various parts of North Sligo, including Cliffoney, Maugherow, Drumcliffe and of course Grange.
He praised his neighbour, Marie Casserly Independent, for getting elected.
Donal said: “Well done to Marie, I pay tribute to her excellent work and I know she will do the area proud.
“People are elected with less than my votes in other parts of the country, there is a huge vote required here,” he added.
Marie Casserly ( Ind)
SHE’S A schoolteacher who gets up early every morning to go for a run and she doesn’t watch television.
It’s a lifestyle which newly elected independent councillor Marie Casserly has encouraged others to follow.
The election of Mrs Casserly was one of the biggest shocks of the election.
The busy mother of three is a teacher at St Mary's College in Ballisodare. Now, she'll have to fit in the role as councillor as well.
“I get up early in the morning, go for a run, I don't watch any television.
“I'm lucky in that I'm job sharing so that allows me to have a very good work- family balance. I have fantastic family support, it's been a real a team effort,” he said.
She put her success down to a strong community presence over a number of years and a good social media campaign.
She didn't put up elections posters opting instead for 20 roadside signs.
However, Marie used Facebook to good effect to get her message across.
“I'm absolutely delighted and very proud I really do believe I can make a difference.
“I'm delighted that people believed in me enough to give me their precious number one vote. Not putting up posters and using social media symbolises a change, that we are moving on. We don't have to depend on posters.”
Grange- based Marie says her election was recognition of the work she has been doing in her community.
She's looking forward to the challenge of working in the new council.
“It will be like starting a new job. I will continue to work in the community and to focus on helping people on the ground.
“I like doing that and I find it easier to get results. If I can help a couple of people every week then that makes a difference and it will stand to me.
“It's a big area but I'm already familiar to many groups at community level.
“Community Alert, Sligo Leader Partnership, Muintir Na Tire are all very active and doing lots of good work and I will be supporting them.”
Tom MacSharry ( FF)
TOM MACSHARRY'S successful return to politics means it will be the first MacSharry name in the county council chamber since 1967.
That was when Tom's uncle Ray MacSharry was first elected and who later went on to become Tanaiste and European Commissioner.
Tom was elected on the 17th count for Fianna Fail in the Sligo electoral area finishing on a total of 1,561 votes, just above the 1,523 quota.
After polling 971 first preference votes it was clear from early on Tom would secure a seat.
Local solicitor Tom, a former mayor of Sligo, opted out of the last local elections to concentrate on establishing his legal practice.
“I'm delighted to have been elected and I'm looking forward to working on the new council. Obviously, it was a very hard campaign and I'm very grateful first and foremost to the voters who elected me.
“I was met with courtesy everywhere I went on the canvass.
“I'd also like to pay tribute to my mother and my financee, Louise for their support to me throughout the campaign,” he said.
Rosaleen O’Grady ( FF)
WHO WILL be the governing group on the new Sligo County Council is “a key question” that has to be addressed, according to reelected councillor Rosaleen O’Grady.,
With Fianna Fail likely to be the largest party on the new council, it remains to be seen if the party will do a deal with Independents or others.
Clr O’Grady said: “It’s early days yet but I think that is certainly something that will have to be looked at this week.”
The former Mayor of Sligo found herself canvassing this time in the much larger Sligo area.
She said: “It was a huge workload but most enjoyable.
“I want to thank the people for their kindness to me on the door steps.
“The generosity and kindness of people always amazes me.”
She said she put her own core support down to the fact she was a hard worker who was known to deliver.
She said: “I love engaging with people. My background as a nurse has been a huge help to me because it has given me an affinity with people. I just love being with people and trying to do my best for them.”
Speaking about the importance of local issues, she said the plight of the sick and elderly was a huge problem.
She added: “I do think this government has treated them very poorly.
“On the doorsteps every day I was meeting older people who were afraid, people from whom discretionary medical cards were taken.
“I worked in older peoples services for many years. This issue is very dear to my heart so this is a huge concern.
“The election may be over but I think it’s something we have to keep in the headlines.”
Jimmy McGarry ( Lab)
Defeated Labour Party candidate Jimmy McGarry is calling it quits – after 29 years.
He said: “I think at this stage I have put my family through enough. They have made enough sacrifices because of me not being at home.
“Having looked at counts and politics, I came to the conclusion every politician’s career ends in failure.”
But McGarry said a person “can also be glorious in defeat.”
Speaking in the count centre in The Clarion Hotel last Sunday night, he said: “Today is not a day I am embarrassed in any way.
“In fact, I am proud that under extremely difficult circumstances, with Fine Gael and Labour having huge losses, I still fought to the finish.”
He said he had put in a great campaign with the support of his wife, Louise and family. He said: “It was a real family campaign. “We put in an unbelievable fight.” As for the reason for his defeat, he said: “A factor was that there were candidates asking people not to vote for me as a Labour candidate because of national issues over which I had no say.”
He said those issues included water charges, the property tax and the health service.
McGarry said he got a “great personal No 1 vote” for which he was thankful.
He said: “I know I got a huge personal vote, including a huge personal preference vote that brought me down to the wire.” He pointed out he was 29 years in public life. He was elected Mayor of Sligo on two occasions and also served as chairman of the county council.
“I contested six local elections successfully, as well as a Dail election,” he said.
Sean MacManus ( SF)
IT WAS victory on the treble for Sinn Fein’s Sean MacManus last weekend. He and his colleague, Thomas Healy, were both elected to Sligo County Council. His party also performed well at national level. And Queens Park Rangers, the football club MacManus has supported for a lifetime, was elevated to the Premiership. “Since I first emigrated to England in 1967, I have been a QPR supporter,” he said.
But politics first. He said: “I am pleased with the fact that the people in the Sligo area placed their trust in me in increasing numbers.
“I am also pleased that Thomas Healy has been elected. “It clearly demonstrates that our strategy for the division of the constituency worked out well.
“It was a massive day for Sinn Fein because of the growth of our vote across the State. “Sinn Fein is on course to take three European seats. “And a vastly increased number of local candidates were elected.”
As for QPR’s elevation, he said: “It was a fantastic achievement, getting back into the premiership at the expense of Derby County.”
Veronica Cawley ( Ind)
“THE LABOUR PARTY is finished in Sligo.” That’s according to unsuccessful candidate Veronica Cawley, a former Mayor and county council chairperson.
She had previously been a Labour candidate. She ran in this election as an Independent.
She declined say specifically if this had affected her vote. However, she said: “I think people still associate me with the Labour Party.
“They still held that link, even though the Labour Party persecuted me for the last five years.”
She referred to Labour’s Susan O’Keeffe having been “a parachute candidate” in the last general election.
She also complained of “vote manipulation and interference from Dublin” in the general election.
She added: “The Labour Party is finished in Sligo. When I was in it, there were 240 members and now there are 24.
“Eamon Gilmore and other members of Democratic Left took over the Labour Party and ruined it.
“I am happy I am not part of that, including the lies that were told about cancer services in Sligo. “I am not bitter about it. They are just facts.” Clr Cawley has been 15 years on the Borough Council and 10 on the county council. She said: “The people elect their councillors every five years.
“They were very good 15 years ago to first elect me and twice after that, in 2004 and 2009. I worked very hard for the people of Sligo over the last 15 years.
“On this occasion, the people decided to elect other councillors.”
Asked if she was disappointed, she replied: “I am not really disappointed. It’s the voice of the people. The people have chosen.
“One thing is certain – that’s when you are elected, you will lose your seat someday.”
Cawley recalled that 16 years ago, she was nearly on her death bed with peritonitis septicemia. She added: “Since that time I had my son, Sean. “I represented the people of Sligo for 15 years and I think I have done well. There is many a person today who would be happy if all they lost was an election.”
Matt Lyons ( FG)
THREE- TIME mayor of Sligo Matt Lyons was another casualty as the electorate took its anger out on the government parties. Matt called time on his long political career following his defeat.
He believes his demise was as much to do with Fine Gael party headquarters as an angry electorate.
“There were just too many candidates, simple as that. There was a big push behind the campaign of one candidate and I felt that was wrong.
“Fine Gael has no party structures in place, it's all just individuals,” he said. The party, he said, was wrong to choose six candidates which has left the party without representation in the town.
Co- opted to the County Council in 1981, Matt was elected to the Borough Council in 1985, losing out in 2004 but returning in 2009. He said there was a lot of anger on the doorsteps. “People didn't want to know about the Government candidates and this anger showed at the polls.
“We did a lot of work but the electorate don't look at it that way, they're hurting,” he said.
The withdrawal of medical cards, water charges and the Lissadell case regularly came up on the doorsteps.
“The Government didn't do anything to help us on this campaign. I met dreadful cases on the campaign of medical cards being withdrawn.
“The hurt was palpable and the people wanted to take this anger out on the Government parties.
“People didn't expect to take as many knocks as they have in the last three years. You can drive people only so far. You can't drive them over the edge,” he said.
He said he had engaged with people over the past nine weeks and he knew of the anger that was coming. “I defended the Government where possible. “I gave it everything,” he said. As to the future, he said, he would be taking it easy. “I took up cycling about a year and a half ago and you'll see me more often on the bicycle from now on.”
David Cawley ( FG)
BETTER vote management by Fine Gael could have elected more party candidates according to David Cawley who lost his seat.
“We had more candidates than there were votes for,”
said the former Mayor.
He polled just 447 first preferences and was eliminated after the 8th count with 483 votes, well short of the 1,523 quota.
David had been a borough councillor since 2004 and a county councillor for the past three years after being co- opted.
He said the party ended up with a number of candidates with around the same number of votes. This included himself, Hubert Keaney and Matt Lyons.
“We had one candidate who did very well but not well enough in another sense in that there wasn't enough of a surplus to bring anyone else in.
“The sad thing too is that there is no longer a Fine Gael councillor in the town.
“That's a difficulty for the party going into the future. We need town representation and unfortunately people in the town won't get that from Fine Gael.
“It has opened up for Fianna Fail. The tide has gone out for us at this election and the people have spoken,” he said.
He discounted the fact the Borough Council met infrequently over the past two years as a factor in his defeat.
David was to the forefront in negotiations with council officials to try to have meetings resume but without much success.
“I don't think that had any effect. Ironically, it guaranteed the election of the one councillor blamed by officials to have been at the heart of it all,” said David.
He intends to continue as a party member and says he is also on a number of boards which will keep him busy.
Thomas Collery ( FG)
“I AM disappointed. I knew that it was going to be a hard fight. One less Fine Gael candidate may have helped, but there was a swing against us and it was never going to be easy for me.”
Thomas Collery, from Ballintogher was another Fine Gael who lost out at the election.
He was eliminated on the 15th count, with a total of 1,006 votes.
The Ballintogher man said that it was a pity to only see Fine Gael taking only two seats in the Sligo electoral area.
“Definitely it is a big disappointment for Fine Gael. Then again, I heard it on the doorsteps, the people were waiting there, there was too much hurt out there with medical cards, water, all these charges coming on top of them.”
He added: “The Government has to sit back and learn that they pushed too many things coming up to local elections.
“We could see it every day, week after week canvassing that there was something new coming out and that the people were wondering where were they going to get money.
“They only get a certain amount of money with the wages and the Government has to think about giving back the Universal charge to the working person first.
“They will not get any power back, people have paid long enough now.”
Thomas was elected in 2009 in the Ballymote electoral area.
“When I saw the boundaries I said that I could be in trouble.”
“I can’t blame the people of Ballintogher or Ballygawley.
“It slipped a small bit in certain areas of Collooney and Ballisodare that I thought I had the work done, so that’s what happens. “It was a day against the Government. “I’m well used to defeat, so this is no big one to me either to me. It would have been nice to get elected for the people that worked so hard for me on the canvass,” Thomas added.
Seamus Kilgannon ( FF)
HE WASN’T selected at the Fianna Fail convention, which had opted for Gilroy, O’ Grady and MacSharry, but the party added him shortly after he threatened to resign.
Now Seamus Kilgannon takes a seat on the new look Sligo electoral council.
The Rathedmond man was elected as the 10th candidate on Sunday at midnight.
He ran five years ago but was unsuccessful on that occassion.
He said: “I want to say to the 23 candidates who put their name on that ballot paper, ten of us have been selected, there are thirteen going home disappointed and some very hard working councillors who because of the circumstances in the economy have found themselves losing their seats.
“I know what it is like – I was here five years ago in this very hall and I lost my seat by just a fraction of votes, I lost out on transfers.”
He added: “They will come back and I wish them the best of luck.
“I feel sad for their families and themselves, but don’t give up, I didn’t give up.
“I said all along I would have another go at it and I went right down to wire.”
He said that he was ‘ shocked’ by the shake up after the elections. “It is unbelievable what has happened – the amount of sitting councillors that have been taken out – it is frightening. “Nobody could have predicted it.” He thanked his family and supporters. “What can I say, it’s going to be a huge challenge for the new councillors.
“It’s going to be down from 25 to 18, we know the financial state of the county. Somebody has got to take it seriously and try to solve it.”
He added: “I have a good bit of experience of being a councillor, including being chairman.
“We have a lot of positive things in Sligo and we should talk about them instead of negatives.”
Sinead Maguire ( FG)
She said that she was ‘ overwhelmed, exhausted and ecstatic’ at being elected. And who could blame her mix of emotions. First- time FG candidate Sinead Maguire is about to become a second- time mum in July.
The Strandhill woman didn’t let this hinder her campaign, which saw her being elected as the fourth member to the Sligo electoral area.
For a newcomer, she scored an impressive 1152 first preference votes, making it look like she was well in line to obtaining a seat.
She was elected on the 11th count with a total of 1549 votes.
She said: “I am exhausted to be frank, it has been a very long campaign, emotionally and physically and timewise.
“But I am thrilled, humbled and honoured with the result. It was beyond my expectations.”
She put being a new face down to her success, particularly when Fine Gael took such a hit in these elections.
“Definitely a lot of what I’ve heard from the Fine Gael councillors who are retiring today, I would have got on the doorsteps too.
“Perhaps because I’m a woman, and new in that I’m a young mother, and maybe have something different to offer.
“A new face, I think that made a difference and people are willing to give me a vote.”
The solicitor said that she was looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“We have a new council structure, a new county manager and we have a new make up of councillors.
“I really hope that we will be working together, that we won’t see the divisions that may have happened previously.”
She said that being an expectant mother, she had to take advice when undertaking her campaign. “It was physically hard, I had to pull back in the last week or two.
“Having been on the campaign trail for the guts of 10 weeks already.
“I may not have taken it on if this was my first child, I have great family support.”