Enda Kenny canvass just child’s play

The last time that Enda Kenny set foot in Tuam, he was jeered and heckled by around 100 water charges protesters, but when he returned to the town as part of the election campaign it was – literally – child’s play.

The Taoiseach arrived in Tuam to visit a local crèche and speak about providing better services for children and their parents. It was easy peasy. Not a bit of hassle.

It was all very civilised as Enda arrived in his seven-series Beemer at the Daisy Chain Child Care Centre in the Clochran estate and it was somewhat ironic that the first person he shook hands with was Garda Michael Joyce, a native of Castlebar stationed in Tuam.

“Maybe we are doing something right,” opined Deputy Paul Connaughton when it was remarked upon that there was no one there that had anything to protest about.

But then, his arrival in Tuam was something of a ‘best kept secret’ in that the media notices of his coming were sent out about an hour before he was due to attend the crèche. In fact it was only confirmed to the crèche owners earlier in the week.

That probably accounts for the fact that the welcoming crowd was mainly made up of parents of the children attending the facility – there was nearly a bigger media presence there than there were members of the public.

Among the welcoming party were Deputies Connaughton and Ciaran Cannon along with Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council Cllr Pete Roche and Cllr Tom McHugh, who actually built the estate in which the day care facility is located.

It was a case of going through the motions as he met the parents, gave a press briefing, fielded some issues-of-the-day questions from the national media before mingling with the children and playing with their blocks.

Enda has a great ability to ramble onto various other matters when asked a direct question. For example, he was asked if a vote management strategy had been considered for Galway East – as had been the case in the past.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.