Senator’s launch hits high notes

Labour Party Senator Lorraine Higgins joined Caherlistrane singer Dolores Keane in an impromptu rendition of ‘Caledonia’ last Saturday night.

The sing-song was the climax of the Athenry-based politician’s official general election launch in New Park Hotel as she bids to retain the seat won by Labour in 2011.

Colm Keaveney, who was elected on the strength of her transfers five years ago, broke ground for Labour in the constituency but subsequently defected to Fianna Fáil.

Senator Higgins would remain true to Labour, however, the launch heard.

Former leader of the party and former Minister, Pat Rabbitte who is retiring from the Dáil after 27 years, was the guest speaker. Rabbitte said he had great admiration for Higgins, who had opted to go into public life despite being a barrister who could make a lot of money in the private sector.

He spoke about the financial disaster that faced the country when Labour entered a Coalition with Fine Gael. He even gave an anecdote of a Cabinet meeting that then leader, Eamon Gilmore had missed.

When Rabbitte asked him why he was absent, Gilmore confided that he had been at a meeting about bringing back the Punt in the event Ireland had to leave the Euro in the financial upheaval.

A former president of NUI Galway Students Union, Rabbitte said he wouldn’t have travelled to Athenry for the launch if he thought Higgins hadn’t a chance of taking a seat.

Even though the constituency has been reduced from four seats to three, Higgins expanded on this theme in her speech to about 200 of the party faithful. “I’m in it to win it,” she declared.

And Higgins predicted that the prophets of doom who predict she isn’t going to be elected would be proved wrong once the ballot boxes are opened. “The perception that as a Labour candidate in Galway East I have no chance does not apply,” she said.

Senator Higgins added: “In the last few weeks the number of people gravitating towards me is astounding. People of all colours and creeds. And when you piece that goodwill together with the fact the Labour Party took almost 8,000 first preference votes in 2011, we now all know that there are enough votes for me to take a seat.

“The great thing about a democracy is, it is the voters who get to make the choice on whether or not they will vote for me and I’m winning them over one by one, street by street, estate by estate. It’s not the commentators, the bookies or the pollsters who want to call the result before the match has finished. It is voters who get to mark a number one in the box of their choice and set the future direction of Galway East.”