Gino says he is happy to be part of ‘the Left rising’
It’s been a big year for Councillor Gino O’Boyle. Last May, he contested his first ever local election, and was elected to Sligo County Council for the first time having been co-opted to fill the place of his late father, Seamie. who passed away suddenly in 2015.
The People Before Profit candidate is keen to be known as a politician in his own right, and to not always be regarded as his father’s son.
“I was co-opted on to my father’s seat in the council. That’s why people might have thought of it as a joke or something when they saw I was running, like we’re a joke of a party,” Cllr. O’Boyle told The Sligo Champion.
“I got elected (in May), and I was happy to be elected. It shows I can do my own work as I try to step out of the shadow of my late father which is always going to be hard. It’s a task I’m always going to try to do.”
It took 12 counts to eliminate the Forthill man in the weekend’s General Election, and he is very proud to have finished neck in neck with the well regarded and respected Councillor Declan Bree.
The People Before Profit share of first preferences showed a slight increase on its 2016 showing when Nigel Gallagher ran for the party.
In 2016 Gallagher received 2.8% (1, 768 votes) of the first preference vote with Cllr O’Boyle managing 2.9% this time around.
Cllr. O’Boyle won 1,746 first preference votes, and the transfers he received from candidates such as Blaithin Gallagher and James Conway kept him in the running for as long as he was there.
It’s an achievement that Cllr. O’Boyle is very proud of, and he is hopeful that now that his name is out there, it gives him a base on which to build for the future.
“I’m delighted. I’m a first time General Election candidate, like the locals in may. It’s good to get a base that we can build on for the future. There’s always hope for better. Sinn Féin saw a dramatic increase. It’s great to see my seconds stay on the left and same with Declan Bree’s.”
Gino had no expectations of winning one of the four Dáil seats in this election, but he just wants to be a part of what he says is the rise of the left.
“No, not a hope (expect to be elected). My father had laid a foundation for me in the locals so it’s our turn now to try and build something. I think we’re going in the right direction.
“In the next couple of years I think we’ ll see a dramatic increase with the left rising. I’m happy to be part of it.”
He is hopeful that his late father is proud of him for contesting the general election, after Seamie himself never got that opportunity.
“I’d hope so (he’d be proud). I remember chatting to him about the last general election. We were sitting at the table trying to get him to run, things were going well for him at the time. He decided not to and we all know what happened after that.”
Many of the people O’Boyle and his candidates met on the doorsteps said they wanted to see change. Now, he hopes that he can part of that change in the near future.
“Everybody says they get a great reaction. We did get a good reaction. People were looking for a change, a break from the norm, a break from the cycle.
“You can see as Martin Kenny topped the poll, it’s 100% looking for a change. We have to build on ours. In five years time I think we have a change of a better showing.”
But for now, it’s back to Sligo County Council for O’Boyle, where he says there is a lot of work to be done.
“The council is still there. We’re only nine months into the term There’s plenty of work to be done. It was great to get out in some of the areas. It’s amazing to go out inside your own district and to see areas with TDs that are so neglected. We know the opportunity is there for change.”