Niall’s having a gay old time being straight up for equality

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

The sexual orientation of our politicians is not a subject we’d normally broach. But in a coming out of sorts, we can confirm that the head of the Yes Equality Galway campaign, Niall Ó Tuathaill, is not gay.

Sorry to disappoint boys, but yes, it’s true, he’s not gay.

That’s NOT, for those down the back not paying attention.

Though he was the leading campaigner locally in the marriage equality referendum, Niall likes women.

And sorry to disappoint all the single ladies out there – but he’s also spoken for.

The Independent general election candidate for Galway West has a partner, and a child, with another on the way.

We know this because he announced it on Facebook.

So now you know.

Perhaps now his political opponents will stop sniggering and mischievously asking “is he gay” before quickly adding: “It doesn’t matter what he is . . .” as if that makes them sound any less backward than they actually are.

Carnmore voters should come out of the Cubbard

If a mouse farts round Carnmore, Galway West TD Noel Grealish would know about it. He’s a bread and butter TD, and knows what his constituents have for breakfast.

It’s killing him, then, to find out the identity of the nine Carnmore people who voted for Galway City Councillor Mike Cubbard in the last general election.

Cubbard is a city slicker, and wouldn’t have much name recognition out in ‘Grealish country’. But apparently there are nine people who voted number one for Cubbard in the Carnmore boxes. Noel is itching to find out who they are.

“I know four of them,” said Mike, who is just as confused about his popularity in Carnmore as Grealish is.

“I got four votes on Inishbofin as well,” he said.

“I know three of them.”

Whoever the fourth Bofin Cubbard voter is – make yourself known, he might buy you a pint.

Nothing special about Sean’s SNA sums

There was good news on the education front this week with confirmation from Government that it has approved the recruitment of an additional 650 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) across the country.

As you’d expect, Government general election candidates in Galway West were tripping over themselves to get the word out, including Labour’s Derek Nolan, Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton, Brian Walsh, Seán Kyne and John O’Mahony.

Galway is to benefit from 42 new SNAs. Not surprising, given there is a Labour Minister for Education, Derek got the good news out there first.

Seán Kyne may have to be sent back to school however. He had to have two takes at it: firstly welcoming the announcement that Galway would get 37 extra SNAs before issuing another announcement, revising his figures upwards to 42, which just showed up how he left out five SNAs for special schools in his initial rush to hog the headlines.

It’s the latest case of ‘immediacy over accuracy’ among politicians desperate to be associated with good news.

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