Fine Gael ready Frank for election on eastern front

Bradley Bytes – a sort of political column with Dara Bradley

Former mayor Frank Fahy may be on the move. A city councillor for Galway City Central since 2014, the political strategists in Fine Gael are trying to lure him to run in City East next time out.

Fahy started electoral politics in City East, unsuccessfully contesting the 2009 Local Election there. But City Central is his stronghold. And he’s nurtured a vote in Menlo that is loyal to him, irrespective of his party brand.

In 2019, in two Menlo boxes, Fahy polled just shy of 52% of first preference votes. That’s one in every two voters in Menlo giving Frankeen a number one.

So it’s understandable that he’d be reluctant to move east, scrounging for votes in Roscam and Doughiska where he’s relatively unknown.

He may have no choice. The Blueshirt bigwigs are teeing Frank up for a transfer to City East. That’s partly because they have two seats in City Central (Eddie Hoare, his running mate last time, held Pádraig Conneely’s seat).

Mostly, though, it’s because City East has become a political wasteland for Fine Gael and they’re struggling to find credible candidates.

Taxi driver Frank polled just 4.5% of the vote in his unsuccessful City East bid in 2009. But back then Fine Gael had a three-candidate strategy, including rising star Brian Walsh, who secured the seat and went on to become a TD.

Brian’s brother, John, held the seat in City East in 2014, but lost it in 2019, meaning Fine Gael had no elected rep on the local authority in this part of the city for the first time ever.

A similar result again in 2024 would be fairly disastrous. Yet there’s no obvious choice of candidate; hence, the pressure on Frank to switch wards.

It may happen. If a constituency review, following the Census, re-jigs the boundaries and moves Menlo into City East, then Frank would be mad not to follow his supporters. He has consolidated his Menlo base and is stuck in everything out there – from the parish council finance committee, to being chairman of the graveyard committee.

But if the boundary change is minimal or doesn’t happen at all, as some rivals have speculated might be the case, it would be nonsensical for Frank to transfer, even if a resurgent Sinn Féin means Mark Lohan will be snapping at his heels.

Of course, Frank Fahy could run in both City Central and City East. If he won both, there’d be a co-option. It might be a bit hungry-looking, though. It could also lead to accusations from voters in both wards that he’s not committed to one or the other.

Whatever ward he runs in, Frank has been prepping for the campaign trail – he’s still got blisters on the soles of his feet after walking 170 kilometres on the Camino last month.

(Photo: Fine Gael City Councillor Frank Fahy, pictured recently on his bog in Menlo while his colleagues met with Green Minister Eamon Ryan at City Hall. He may be moving east if party bigwigs get their way).

This is a shortened preview version of Bradley Bytes. See this week’s Galway City Tribune for more. You can buy a digital edition HERE.