Galway West
Shell-shocked Labour may return to Higgins dynasty to rebuild Galway West base
The Higgins name may make a comeback to resurrect the Labour Party’s Dáil seat lost in Galway West.
Derek Nolan, who topped the poll in 2011, lost the seat held by Michael D Higgins for decades in Galway West.
City-based Nolan’s first preference vote plummeted by around 56% compared with his 7,500 high five years ago, mirroring voters’ desertion of Labour nationally.
The outgoing TD would not be drawn on whether he would run again but party sources indicated that President Michael D Higgins’ daughter, Alice Mary, may be lined-up to challenge for Labour in the constituency at the next election.
Last week it was confirmed that she would be running as an independent candidate in the Seanad elections on the NUI panel.
Ms Higgins has taken unpaid leave of absence from the National Women’s Council of Ireland to contest that election.
Sources in Labour locally say Ms Higgins would be an option for the party as it looks to rebuild after a bruising general election campaign, which came soon after a tough local election in 2014 when Labour lost three seats on Galway City Council.
Speaking after he conceded defeat, long before even the first count at Bailey Allen Hall at NUI Galway, Mr Nolan said it was a sad day for him to lose the seat held for so long by former minister Higgins.
“It is sad that the Michael D tradition and the seat that he carved out of a rock from the 1960s onwards isn’t there anymore. Because it was a principled seat; a very, very principled seat, which I tried to carry on.
“Maybe I was too principled over the last five years and wasn’t ‘showboating’ enough or whatever. That is disappointing. But I think there is a future for the party in Galway West,” he said.
Deputy Nolan said he would be looking for a new job on Monday.
“I have to pay the rent. There are a whole load of practical things I have to look at.
“I’m now searching for a new job. I’m a qualified solicitor and have a Masters in human rights,” he said.
Deputy Nolan said he took the brunt of the criticism levelled at the Government.
“I was in a crowded space. I was being attacked. I was the target of so many, for so long, it became very difficult to cut through the lies and the negativity,” he said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
With half of the boxes in Galway City West tallied, the state of play in the six-seater is:
Donal Lyons (Ind) 23%
Pauline O’Reilly (Greens) 14.75%
Niall McNelis (Lab) 11.89%
John Connolly (FF) 9.86%
Pearce Flannery (FG) 9.48%
Peter Keane (FF) 7.3%
John Crowley (Soc Dems) 6.3%
Clodagh Higgins (FG) 5.9%
Salthill and Taylor’s Hill boxes being tallied now
There is a tired old cliché about people singing from ‘the same hymn sheet’ – but despite their diverse political backgrounds, it could certainly be applied in the case of Galway city’s two new TDs.
Because Fine Gael’s Deputy Hildegarde Naughten and independent TD Catherine Connolly hold common ground when it comes to a lot of issues relating to Galway city.
For example, in the aftermath of the general election they both agreed that University Hospital Galway should be moved to a greenfield site at Merlin Park. They also articulated this view on the first day of the new Dail last week.
And, separately, they were both in favour of the provision of dedicated bus lanes throughout Galway city with the acceptance that there will be no outer bypass for at least another decade. Deputy Connolly believes that the current proposal is simply “a cul-de-sac” and should never have been progressed.
Left-leaning Independent TD Catherine Connolly and right-leaning Fine Gael TD, Hildegarde Naughton, both believe UHG is at saturation point and are committed to the development of a new public hospital at the larger, more accessible site east of the city.
This, along with the promotion of public transport initiatives to help end traffic chaos in the city, is one of the common policy objectives the two new women TDs share.
They are only the second and third women TDs ever in Galway West, following in the footsteps of former Fianna Fáil minister, Máire Geoghegan Quinn.
Pressure is mounting on Galway West TD Noel Grealish to join Fianna Fail as the party attempts to be part of the next government.
The Fianna Fail organisation in the constituency are now convinced that Grealish may provide the party with the answer to winning a second seat in Galway West. And the organisation are disappointed that veteran TD Eamon O Cuiv has not delivered a second seat in the last two general elections. If Fianna Fail assume power, it is very unlikely that the Cornamona man will have a place at the front bench.
The party organisation in Galway West are now anxious that Grealish becomes part of their fabric and particularly as he is a proven vote-winner.
Grealish is part of an unofficial grouping in the Dail who are currently engaged with the two major parties with a view to forming a minority government.
The fact that the Carnmore man has been a TD since 2002, it is likely that he could be part of the front bench in the next government if he agrees to become part of the support that Fianna Fail require.
It was revealed last week that he had been approached by Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin to join up but he was not to be drawn on the issue.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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