Grealish wants bypass scrapped … sure it’ll probably be built so!

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Galway West TD, Noel Grealish has called on An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny to scrap the city bypass. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the man who made a political career out of promising and/or calling for a bypass of Claregalway, has asked that the proposed new city road be scrapped.

Since getting elected to Dáil Éireann in 2002, Independent Deputy Grealish has called for Claregalway to be bypassed. He’s made a political career out of it.

But his calls have fallen on deaf ears – even when he had a modicum of power and was one of the Independents who propped up Bertie Ahern’s Government in the boom times, Grealish didn’t get a Claregalway bypass in return.

And now that he’s in opposition, his calls for a bypass of Claregalway to be built are not being listened to either.

Given the former Progressive Democrat TD’s record on bypasses, can we now assume that the one he’s called to be scrapped – the controversial N6 ring-road around Galway – will actually go ahead?

Mayor of Muslims, marginalised

You can accuse Frank Fahy, the city’s newest mayor, of many things but being aloof is not one of them.

Colleagues of the bould Frankeen claim he’s suffering from an awful bout of ‘mayoritus’ – snidely snorting, behind his back, of course, that the chain has gone to his head.

We’ve yet to experience any temper-tantrums, or prima donna incidents they speak of, although we live in hope.

What we have seen of the Menlo mayor, though, is a reaching out to the marginalised.

He was at the launch of Galway Traveller Pride recently. And not to be outdone, the gays booked him to officially launch the programme for the 2015 Galway Community Pride Festival, which celebrates the local LGBT community.

And then last weekend, as this picture shows, Frankeen joined the local Muslim community at Westside Community Centre in Ballybrit where there were prayers to mark the end of Ramadan.

He’s certainly targeting the niche vote.

Mary island hopping for Dev Óg’s votes

Éamon Ó Cuív is regarded as having a safe seat in Galway West.

The Fianna Fáil TD has an unrivalled brand loyalty among voters in Connemara and the islands in particular.

It stems from his time as Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.

Dev Óg held that position during the boom years, and so the largesse he dished out for piers and pitches hasn’t been forgotten by the Gaeltacht and island communities.

Most challengers to the Ó Cuív throne don’t bother courting the island or Gaeltacht vote. Why bother?  But his party colleague and general election running mate, County Councillor Mary Hoade, is eyeing up Éamo’s supporters out in the Wild West.

At the latest HSE West regional health forum meeting, Mary questioned hospital managers about health services on the three Aran Islands, and asked a separate question about Inishbofin.

She could be laying the groundwork for the post Ó Cuív era; or trying to poach votes round Ó Cuív Country for the upcoming election. Either way, watch your back Éamo, watch your back!

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