Derek is protestors’ lightning rod

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Derek Nolan has been peed on, politically, more often than a fluorescent urinal cake in the jacks of a busy Race Week pub.

Ever since the Labour Party TD was elected to represent Galway West in Dáil Éireann, Derek has had truck loads of muck flung at him.

It’s usually the far left, or even those slightly left of Labour which isn’t that far left at all, who are not best pleased that Derek has ‘sold out’ the proletariat by coalescing with Fine Gael.

But there are others, in FG and to the right of them, who don’t like Derek and his Labour ilk because they’re all for gays marrying and woman having a right to choose abortion in certain circumstances, and other sensible but divisive social policies.

And then there are groups, such as students, who just feel betrayed by Labour’s broken promises.

Regardless the reason, Derek is the common target of protest in Galway. Fine Gael TD, Brian Walsh’s office in Bohermore has been stormed a few times during the past five years but generally it is Derek who gets most flak.

Menacingly, idiots in the Galway Alliance Against War felt the need to picket his parents’ home in Riverside.

Protestors have picketed his constituency office so regularly since the last election, when it happens now it’s scarcely news. He’s chided and goaded and shouted at in the streets most days he goes about his business. Things were so bad that Derek might prefer to be a urinal cake than a TD.

Polltopper has a long way to fall

Given that Derek Nolan is such a figure of hate for protestors angry with their lot, and Labour’s perceived part in producing that lot, how will the city TD get on in the upcoming election?

The conventional wisdom for quite some time was that Derek would lose his seat handy enough – Labour are so low in the opinion polls that he couldn’t possibly hold on.

It’s also argued that Derek’s campaign in 2009 was boosted by the fact that Fianna Fáil had ruined the country and was on its knees – it was harder for him not to get elected the tide was so far in for Labour.

He also had the backing of his predecessor, Michael D Higgins, whose ‘camp’ including wife Sabina, helped canvass for Derek. That Michael D loyalty vote will be gone next time; and Michael D and anyone belonging to him will not be allowed to campaign given that he is now President.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.