*Martin Conway with Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar.
INPUT from former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (FG) will shed light on any questions surrounding the 2018 controversy involving Senator Martin Conway (FG) prior to his selection as a General Election candidate, a West Clare councillor has said.
Elected members of Fine Gael at a local and national level in Clare have voiced their well wishes for Senator Conway and his family at a difficult time after reports from The Irish Independent revealed he was arrested for intoxication last month and was subject to a party inquiry over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female party staff member in 2018.
Support must be provided for Senator Conway, Clare TD Joe Cooney (FG) maintained. “He has made his statement and we will have to support what he has said”. Deputy Cooney felt it was “a setback” that the Ennistymon man had left the parliamentary party but was hopeful once an investigation was concluded that over time he could return to the fold.
Former TD and Senator, Madeline Taylor Quinn (FG) who is currently Chairperson of the Fine Gael branch in Clare said she was not aware of the 2018 incident prior to Conway’s selection as a General Election candidate in 2020. “I gather from reading the papers that Fine Gael will undergo an investigation and I await the outcome of the investigation”.
Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) outlined, “When I went into the Council at first Martin Conway was always very helpful, I always admired him, he had a little bit of a problem with his sight, he overcame all of that and he is highly educated. I can’t say much because I’m sure it has been talked about in the Dáil and I’m not going to elaborate on anything until I hear, all I know is what I’ve seen and heard from the media. I always respected him and I’m sorry for what may have happened”.
Outcomes of the should not be predicted, Cllr Keating said. “Fine Gael like any other party will do their own thing, sometimes we agree with what they do and sometimes we don’t. I don’t know what the outcome might be and we have to wait and see. It is not for me to comment on at this stage. The former Taoiseach (Leo Varadkar) will probably speak on it at some stage”.
When asked if he believed Varadkar was aware of the 2018 incident involving Conway and a female staffer prior to his selection as a General Election candidate in 2020, Cllr Keating stated, “Isn’t that par for the course when something happens, we never know till after, everybody has the answer afterwards but nobody seems to have known about it at the time, as far as I’m concerned I’ve seen so many things happen in politics that you have to wait and see what happens”.
“There is nothing to say other than it is a very difficult personal situation, I’d like to leave the family to deal with it,” Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) said. “I don’t know anything about the whole sequence of events, I think we’ve to let that investigation be done properly and thoroughly,” he added. Cllr Garrihy who canvassed for Conway in the 2020 election said he only became aware of the 2018 complaints via the media. “I wish the family and Martin the very best in what is a very difficult situation”.
Conway’s resignation from the Fine Gael parliamentary party “is unfortunate,” Cllr Pat Burke (FG) maintained. “As it stands he is still a Fine Gael member but an Independent Senator. He should remain as a Fine Gael member until there is an investigation completed. He is a loss to the parliamentary party, he has been a very good senator since 2011, it is unfortunate because he is a loss and he has done a lot for the party”. Burke was not aware of any incident prior to the media reports.
Conway should be allowed to remain in Fine Gael once the investigation concludes, Cllr John Crowe (FG) felt. “I would be in favour of remaining with Fine Gael, he’s been with us for a long time and he has done an awful lot of good work for the county, I remember serving on Clare County Council with him where he did trojan work. He has been very helpful as a Senator and has been able to follow up on a number of queries for me”.
He continued, “I feel sorry for himself, his wife and family. He is a great politician, he has done a lot of work for the county and his community, it is unfortunate that he is in this situation”.
Ongoing events were described as “an awful situation” by Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG). “I have no axe to grind with Martin in any shape or form, whatever happened I’m assuming is an isolated incident, I wish him the best with sorting himself out, whatever he needs to do. I wish him and family well, it is an awful situation, who are we to throw stones. It is an awful thing to happen to anybody, none of us can throw stones, we all go out and mad things happen”.
Shannon based Mulcahy said it would be up to Fine Gael to decide if Conway remains a member of the party following the disciplinary process. “We’re not all born in glasshouses, we will make mistakes. Fionnan Sheahan (Irish Independent journalist) presents himself as judge and jury in many cases recently, there’s innuendo, there’s places for those to be tried and investigated”. He added, “I know Martin a long time, many families have had challenges. I always want to try help people. I’m in no place to judge anyone and I won’t start now”.
Fine Gael’s newest councillor in the county, Cllr Conor Ryan (FG) stated, “I’ve only met Martin on two occasions, on both occasions I’ve considered him very professional”. On his future in the party, he said, “it isn’t my decision one way or the other, if there is an issue you’d hope he would get good professional help”.
Lahinch based Cllr Bill Slattery (FG told The Clare Echo, “As regards the ongoing difficulties being experienced by Senator Conway I would prefer to make no comment”.
Both Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) and Cllr Mary Howard (FG) declined to make a comment when contacted by The Clare Echo.
