ÔMullÕ ponders on what might have been after 24 years in local politics

Date Published: {J}

Over 100 old friends from politics and business came together last week to pay a special tribute to the years of service in politics of John Mulholland – a former Fine Gael Mayor of Galway, who served twenty four years in Galway City Council, and someone who might easily have been a TD at one stage.

Last week’s was a surprise gathering as, I understand, John Mulholland thought he was going to the Salthill Branch FG Christmas Dinner! The event was organised by friends and family and was held in The Salthill Hotel, with MEP Jim Higgins as the main speaker in tribute to the Mulholland years in Galway City politics.

The era came to an end at the Local Elections in June last, when Mulholland failed to be elected. He lost out on the last count, while his newcomer running-mate Hildegarde Naughton, was elected. When it came to the seventh count in the Galway City West Ward (Salthill-Claddagh-Knocknacarra), Mulholland was one of the last four candidates left in the running for the final three seats. The seats went to Hildegarde Naughton (FG) 1466, Peter Keane (FF) 1358, Neil McNelis (Lab) 1346, with Mulholland going out on 1149 votes.

Attendance at last week’s tribute function was led by MEP Higgins, Senator Paddy Burke (FG Mayo), West Galway TD and long-time friend Padraic McCormack, and two of the Fine Gael City Councillors, Padraig Conneely and Brian Walsh, while a good friend from Fianna Fail, Val Hanley, who failed to be elected in June, was also among a fair scattering of people from other parties at the function.

The speculation in Fine Gael circles on the night was as to the absence of two from the function – Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames and Councillor Hildegarde Naughton. Perhaps the invitations went astray in the post. Senator Healy-Eames said she was disappointed not to have been there as she was an admirer of John Mulholland’s contribution to Galway over many years.

Among those who paid tributes was Christy O’Connor Junior ….. but on a night of reminiscence, there must have been a memory that at one stage, about twenty years ago, Johnny Mulholland was looked on by then Fine Gael Leader Garret FitzGerald and General Secretary Peter Prendergast as one of the potential new TDs, but Mull decided to forego the opportunity so as not to challenge his friend, Fintan Coogan Junior.

In those days Fine Gael were on a real bounce in the polls under the leadership of Garret FitzGerald and got their highest ever share of the votes in a General Election when, in November, they came up with 39.22 per cent of the first preferences.

In the background, about that time, the pressure was coming on Mulholland, a successful businessman in Galway, to let his name go forward for the Dail.However, John Mulholland was a very good friend of Fintan Coogan Jnr., whose father, Fintan Senior, had been a long-serving West Galway TD himself.

Mulholland shelved any Dail ambitions he might have had himself, in order to let Coogan Jnr. get the clear run, and to support Coogan. Of course, it turned out to be a life-changing decision.

For, if he ever wanted to be a TD, the chance never really came about again for Mulholland to run in such potentially favourable circumstances. What was it Shakespeare said? …. “there is a tide in the affairs of men which taken on the flood, leads on to fortune.” In other words, Mulholland was never to get another real offer of a possible Dail career.

It was a crucial decision for Mulholland, though he had a very successful twenty four years as a member of the City Council. He served on the City Corporation (City Council) with distinction and got two terms in the Mayoralty, but there was a time he could have been a TD.

Last June, he fell victim to the candidacy of FG newcomer, Hildegarde Naughton, who, even on the night of the convention, looked like she might be a potential winner. Factors in her favour included the fact that she was a new candidate; a woman; had her very politically experienced father, PJ Naughton, a former member of the Fine Gael National Executive, in her corner, and had young women supporters in numbers at the convention whom I never saw previously involved in politics.

She also conducted one hell of a campaign in which the whole idea of ‘personal networking’ by phone and personal and family contact, proved crucial …. just as it did for FF newcomer in the Salthill area, Councillor Peter Keane. Hildegarde Naughton also did an extraordinarily effective postering campaign in the days coming up to polling, that was quite unique and was issue-driven.

I think there was also another factor – five years previously Maureen Egan had gained 620 first preferences as a running-mate in Fine Gael with Mulholland, and this time, Maureen Egan was supporting Hildegarde Naughton.

Interestingly, among those at the function in honour of John Mulholland was Councillor Brian Walsh, who, at the moment, would appear to be in a situation similar to that in which John Mulholland found himself all those years ago. For, Brian Walsh has made it clear that he would like to run for the Dail …… but he is a close friend of sitting Fine Gael TD Padraic McCormack and, I understand, might be hesitant about running if it meant that he had to stand against McCormack for the nomination.

The dilemma for Brian Walsh began to really manifest itself a few months ago when the speculation about an imminent General Election seemed to reach fever pitch. Brian Walsh was selected in 2007 to stand when Padraic McCormack indicated he wanted to retire, but then Walsh made a late withdrawal from the race for personal and family reasons, and FG Leader Enda Kenny persuaded McCormack to come out of the intended retirement, and allow his name to go before the electorate once more.

McCormack has very much retained his huge interest in politics and has a degree of enthusiasm which is extraordinary. If an election were held soon, McCormack would probably stand again. Right now, with The Greens reported to be getting wobbly again on the issue of wanting more taxation in the Budget rather than spending cuts, you wouldn’t know when an election might be held – if it’s two years away, then McCormack might not stand and Brian Walsh might get his chance, but if things went wrong and the election was held soon, then McCormack might be pressed to stand again.In the background, there is a demand that Fine Gael must win two seats in Galway West and in the running for nominations have to be – Deputy McCormack, Senator Healy-Eames, Councillors Brian Walsh, Padraig Conneely and Hildegarde Naughton.

Of course, Padraic McCormack himself is no stranger to the whole business of being asked to stand aside in the interests of letting others have a ‘clear run.’

Back in the 1980s, after he had spent years slogging away in Fine Gael and been elected to the Senate, he was asked not to let his name go forward for election because Fine Gael were putting together a ticket of John Donnellan, Fintan Coogan and Pol O Foighil in an strategy aimed at winning two Dail seats out of five in Galway West.

The strategy worked brilliantly in 1982 when both John Donnellan and Fintan Coogan were elected in Galway West. That was when Garret FitzGerald became the Fine Gael Taoiseach ….. but in the election of 1987, it all fell apart again when only Donnellan was elected, as the backside fell out of the FG vote after their five years in power. Padraic McCormack got his chance when he was elected to the Dail in 1989, and he has been there since.