Walsh: Fine Gael threatened me with Hildegarde ‘promotion’

Galway West TD Brian Walsh has revealed that he was threatened with the elevation of Hildegarde Naughton to the Senate if the former Fine Gael Deputy carried out his promise to vote against the abortion legislation.

He told the Connacht Sentinel that the recent decision to appoint the city school teacher to the vacancy in the Seanad came as no surprise to him.

Deputy Walsh is now facing the prospect of fighting the next General Election as an independent candidate as there is no way back to Fine Gael in the foreseeable future.

His decision to vote against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill resulted in him being banished from the FG party along with party colleague Senator Fidelma Healy Eames.

But the city based TD said that he knew of the circumstances of his decision long before the vote took place but he added that he voted according to his values.

He said that he was willing to accept political isolation as the price for keeping his election promise and standing by his principles.

 “Hildegarde’s appointment didn’t come as a huge surprise to me, as it had been suggested to me in the course of discussions with the party hierarchy that this might happen if I voted against the abortion legislation.

“Nonetheless, she was a fine local representative and I have no doubt that she will have a valuable contribution to make in the Seanad.

“I have been actively involved in Fine Gael for most of my life and, notwithstanding the removal of the whip, I remain a member of the party and have at all times stood by its core values.

“In opposing the Government’s legislation on abortion, I voted in accordance with those values and the pre-election commitment that we gave people on the doorsteps prior to the last general election in 2011.

“I was under no illusion as to the consequences of my decision when I voted against the Bill, but if political isolation is the price to be paid for keeping an election promise and standing by one’s principles, then I will gladly pay it.

“I believe I still have a lot to offer in politics and I will be standing in the next General Election. At this stage, I would hope to do so as a Fine Gael candidate but if that doesn’t happen, I will be running as an Independent. “

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel