*Scariff Bay presenter Paul Bugler with Cllr Pat Hayes, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan and Cllr Tony O’Brien.
TENSIONS ARE BEGINNING to simmer among the Fianna Fáil faithful in East Clare.
Candidates will be selected for the Killaloe Municipal District on June 9th for Fianna Fáil. As previously reported by The Clare Echo, Broadford native Matt Moroney will be squaring up with the sitting trio of Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) and Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF).
Party insiders have told The Clare Echo that only three candidates will be chosen at the selection convention.
Members of the East Clare Comhairle Ceanntair have accused Moroney of playing “dirty tactics” by informing persons eligible to vote that a sitting councillor will be added to the ticket if they are defeated by him at convention in his efforts to win extra support.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Moroney explained what he had been telling eligible voters. “I made an enquiry to headquarters to know what was position if any of four lost out at Convention. They said there is a process to go through, an appeals process and they decide, they said it may be possible that a fourth candidate added depending on the status of the person, it is up to the appeals committee”.
He added, “I’ve been getting a great reaction, I’ve done a lot of canvassing of delegates, most of them are under the impression that new blood is needed, that’s across the district, you will have supporters of each candidate that will have their back no matter what but people are open to new blood”.
Moroney said he was shocked with the decline in party members particularly in areas of Killaloe and Scariff, “it’s a worry that the effort is not being put in on recruitment”.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr O’Brien insisted the party cannot afford to run four candidates in the Killaloe MD. He referenced the 2019 local elections where Fine Gael received 4,735 first preference votes in comparison to Fianna Fáil’s 3,730, “if you put four candidates in you risk the logic of losing two,” he said.
O’Brien added, “If I lost out at Convention, would I run as a fourth candidate, I haven’t even considered it yet, I don’t think there is room for four Fianna Fáil candidates in the Killaloe MD based on the stats, it would be ludicrous because you can see by the percentages that we wouldn’t have a hope, I’d contend and argue that we’d be very fortunate to hold onto the fourth seat”.
As previously reported by The Clare Echo, a surge in membership has been experienced within the East Clare Comhairle Ceanntair from 160 to 244 has been recorded over recent months, a cohort of which are said to be supporters of Moroney and joined late in 2022. One of these is understood to be Beckha Doyle who contested the 2019 local elections as a Social Democrat candidate.
Before being able to vote in a selection convention, individuals must be paid up members for thirteen months. The decision of party chiefs in East Clare to move swiftly in holding a convention will subsequently hinder the potential impact from the Moroney supporters.
This jump in numbers was referenced by Killaloe’s O’Brien. “I’d be very dubious and concerned about the people who are added to the organisation. One of the people who joined the party is a Social Democrat who criticised Fianna Fáil openly, its members and its leadership, I have huge concerns of people who are added to the party”.
“We have three candidates well positioned to garner the best vote for the party, we’ve worked very hard for the Killaloe Municipal District and the proof can be seen in every town and village with active travel, public realm and schools, how anybody in their right mind could think you have two candidates living 200m from each other and another in Kilmurry or Flagmount with rest of the Municipal District with no representative and expect to garner the same votes based on the numbers I’ve given you is beyond me”.
