Flush Frankeen digs deep for show of flower power

Bradley Bytes – a sort of  political  column by  Dara Bradley

Auction politics: Frank Fahy, the Fine Gael city councillor, raised the bar on it recently when he revealed he had to flash the cash to keep them sweet in Menlo.

Fianna Fáil’s Ollie Crowe was moaning about the lack of City Council supplied flower pots about the town, and Frank, a taxi driver, agreed with him.

Frank then revealed he had been begging City Hall for ages for a few potted pansies to spruce up his neighbourhood but obviously he’s got no sway with the flower department in the Council because he didn’t get any.

The Council placed 24 planters on the Headford Road between Tesco and the Galway Shopping Centre but couldn’t spare four for poor Frankeen out in Menlo.

To save face among his electorate – who must have pointed out to him that other areas have lovely planters, why don’t we? – Frankeen dug deep into his own pockets and bought four planters for Menlo from his own money.

That put it up to the rest of them. Next time Ollie’s looking for flowers round Bohermore, he’ll have to dip into the tips’ jam jar at Crowe’s bar. 

Two things about Frank’s flower power fund: A) Did Frank use his hoarded Communion money to make the purchase and, if not, since when did taxi drivers, famous for giving the poor mouth spiel, overtake consultants on the salary league tables capable of buying planters for everyone?

And B) are the people of Menlo sorry now they didn’t ask him for something more valuable, like the latest iPhones?

Derek hits bulls-eye as Fine Gael jumps gun

Last week we brought you news of the local Fine Gaelers making announcements about school investments in Galway, ahead of their Government colleagues in the Labour Party.

FG may have been first to break the news but accuracy appears to be the casualty of jumping the gun; and the slower Labourites – presumably tardy with the announcement because they checked their facts – at least got the schools right.

FG Junior Minister Ciaran Cannon announced that ‘Scoil Mhuire, Oranmore’ had been given the go-ahead to tender for a new school building. Great news, except there’s another Scoil Mhuire just down the road in Maree, which neighbours Oranmore . . . and it turns out it was Scoil Mhuire, Maree – known locally as Maree National School – that was getting the lolly, and given the go-ahead to tender for a new school.

But Cannon and FG colleague Brain Walsh announced it as Scoil Mhuire, Oranmore (as did the Education Department) that had been given the go-ahead even though it is still in the early stages of plans for development work, but is not at the stage to go to tender with the project.

Their Labour Party rival, Derek Nolan, who evidently had his finger on the pulse, was two hours slower sending out his release but identified the correct school.

We hear Walsh even went so far as to contact Maree NS to express regret that funding hadn’t been forthcoming by which time the champagne corks were already popped at the teachers’ room round Scoil Mhuire, Maree!

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.