*Photograph: Joe Buckley
DISCONTENT within Fianna Fáil is expected to come to the surface in Co Clare this week for the AGM of the party’s branch.
Hotel Woodstock will host the Fianna Fáil Clare Chomairle Dáilcheantair (CDC) AGM this Friday. Members are likely to use the forum to voice their dissatisfaction with the party’s disastrous Presidential Election campaign which Cllr Shane Talty (FF) has described as “a calamity from start to finish”.
Former publican Darragh McAllister was elected as Chair of the Clare CDC for Fianna Fáil last July succeeding Newmarket-on-Fergus dairy farmer Mike Enright who had been in situ since 2016.
Cillian Murphy who was a Fianna Fáil councillor from 2019 to 2024 was elected PRO at this AGM but left the party to become parliamentary assistant to Clare TD, Joe Cooney (FG) in January. Secretary Garrett Greene has also departed his role.
The Clare Echo understands that McAllister is among a host of officers not seeking re-election. Tom Costelloe (joint treasurer) and Gerry Kelly (assistant secretary) are also believed to be keen to bow out from their positions. Liam Hayes (youth officer), Mary Crawford (vice chairperson), Louise Roche McNamara (womens/equality officer) and Geraldine Lambert (membership officer) are all keen to stay on as officers, according to party insiders.
Support is said to be strong among certain sections of the party for Enright to return to the Chair.
An appetite for more party meetings has been voiced by elected members of Clare County Council.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) outlined, “There is need for a new officer board to the CDC, you need change and for meetings to be organised. I’d like if this AGM produced a new slate of officers and a new sense of direction for the CDC in Clare”. She maintained the Comairle Ceanntairs within the county were “operating well”.
On the prospect of Enright returning to the fold, Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) stated, “I haven’t heard moves on people going in or out but I’ve always classed Mike Enright as a great Fianna Fáil man, a great friend of mine and a great help. He is a true gentleman and a true Fianna Fáil man to the backbone”.
Relevance of the structure was questioned by Cllr Talty. “It is difficult to see how the Cumann and CDC structure is relevant today but we need ideas on how it could be more relevant and active. On the ground, particularly older Fianna Fáil members experienced a level of hurt on the day of voting for the Presidential election, the level of hurt they had going into the polling booth, they felt they didn’t have an option on the ballot paper and they had voted for fifty to seventy years. They found it upsetting and borderline hurtful, that level of hurt needs to be acknowledged and a price will have to be paid over time”.
Change is likely, Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) hinted, “I’m hearing that people are putting their name forward, no more than any AGM at least members will decide that. People on the ground will go into the AGM and have a considered opinion, people will withdraw and have competition for places”.
Local members need to be able to feed into national policy, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) maintained. “I think it is important that CDCs throughout the country be strengthened with greater representation for grassroots members and greater representation of their views through representatives and an ability to feed into national policy. We do know from Trump that he creates huge uncertainty, the present administration in our Government seem to have been able to stabilise the situation and allow FDI continue, we’ve a winning team and need to keep that in place”.
Chair of the party’s grouping of councillors, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) admitted, “I haven’t thought too much about it”. He added, “There’s no doubt that the party and all political parties are suffering the same on membership and trying to keep organisations up and operational. We need to get our county and different districts in order, we need to reform the party in terms of making sure the members have an input and a say in relation to what happens at national and local level, the membership at a local level are the voices of the people which is very important to us as politicians and to hear what they want us to do, it is very important to get good people involved and that it is fit for the purpose and not just gathering money, strategically the party needs to look at policy on a ground level and question councillors and TDs”.
When asked if changes are needed locally, Cllr Rachel Hartigan (FF) stated, “I wouldn’t give any specifics on personnel, that is an internal matter, we will have democratically elected people whether they are the same faces or faces we’ve seen before it will go to a vote. My hope is that we would be able to be a real unifying force. Fianna Fáil has a huge presence in the county, we’ve three seats in the Shannon Municipal District, we’ve four Ennis councillors, we got results locally last year that nobody thought was possible and we gained an extra Dáil seat so it is only right that we have a strong CDC which is what our members deserve”.
Members should have the say on what happens, Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) stressed. “I would welcome anyone that wants to get involved especially young people, we need to attract new people into our party, everyone should have a say, open communication and regular meetings has to be central to it, I’ve no doubt many members will be upset, we have to rebuild”.
Similarly Cllr David Griffin (FF) said it will come down to members if they want change. “We need to look to the future, we’ve fourteen councillors which is fifty percent of the Chamber, we have two TDs so we need an active structure. It is good to have an AGM and to have an opportunity to select a new officer board. Hopefully after Friday we will have a new officer board in place and prepare for the next election which hopefully won’t be until the 2029 locals election, fingers crossed”.
Showing a united front must be reflected in the officer board, Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) felt. “We’ve a lot of great people in the party in Clare, I’d like to have an administration that reflects our two Oireachtas members and fourteen Cllrs, we need a solid organisation and an organisation which is cohesive and united, that is the most important to me, we need to hold three or four meetings a year and make sure things are done right”. He added, “It can’t be for one TD or two TDs, it has to be for everyone, I’d welcome a conciliatory arrangement for us all to work together, we always had that and that is what we had, lord have mercy on Jack Hanrahan who was a stalwart as secretary for 30 years, he was completely impartial and did his job. If you are fair and impartial then you have the confidence of everyone, we’ve great people in the party all over the country, we need people to have the courage to come forward”.
