PD councillors Tom Welby and Terry O’Flaherty have declared they will stand as Independent candidates in the 2009 Local Elections, with Cllr Donal Lyons possibly doing the same. Speculation persists however that Noel Grealish, Declan McDonnell, and Jim Cuddy are Fianna Fáil bound.
On Tuesday night, the PDs met to decide if they should continue as a political party. The meeting, led by party leader Sen Ciaran Cannon, TDs Noel Grealish and Mary Harney, and Sen Fiona O’Malley, concluded the party “is no longer politically viable”.
However in a move which has characterised the PDs protracted death pangs and the indecision of Noel Grealish over when he will join Fianna Fáil, the meeting also concluded that the party’s 4,000 memberts should decide next month if the PDs should be shut down.
In effect this provides a stay of execution for the next four to six weeks, but within the party membership there is conflicting opinion and emotion. It is understood that at the meeting, other party members outside the ‘Big Four’ felt the party should continue and contest the 2009 Local Elections before deciding its future.
Political observers will also find it ironic that the party, which was founded in Galway at a meeting in Leisureland in 1985, should be pronounced dead by three Galwegians - Sen Cannon, Minister Harney, and Dep Grealish. As a result, members acknowledge the party is gone and that the view of the leadership will be endorsed next month.
Yet frustration and disappointment with Dep Grealish remains. PD members feel his prevarication and lack of a decision has been unhelpful. Others say he should make a declaration while others accused him of “letting the party down” and of Dep Grealish “being the problem” when it came to deciding the party’s future.
“It would have been easier if Noel had left it until after the locals,” a PD member who was at last Tuesday’s meeting said. “Even at that he had three years before the next general election.”
With the party’s days literally numbered and with nine months to the local elections, Galway’s six PD councillors have now turned their attention to their political futures. There is little sentimentality and few tears shed, as each member has long accepted the party was on the way out.
“Each individual will make up their own mind,” Cllr Declan McDonnell told the Galway Advertiser. “It will not be a collective decision. All of us have to make up our minds and make them up quick.”
The PDs on the Galway City Council are Cllr Donal Lyons, Cllr Declan McDonnell, and Cllr Terry O’Flaherty.
Cllr Terry O’Flaherty has told the Galway Advertiser that she will contest the 2009 Local Election as an independent, despite offers from both Fianna Fáil and The Green Party for her to join.
“I will be going as an independent community candidate,” she said. “I am grateful to the other parties for asking me to join but I must go on my conscience and my principles. It’s not going to be easy, as mounting an independent campaign is very expensive but I have worked extremely hard as a local representative and I am a 24/7 politician.”
While Cllr Donal Lyons has been linked with a move to Fine Gael he is virtually certain to go the independent route as well.
“My inclination is to go independent,” he said. “I have to consult with my family and all those who have worked for me and supported me in my local election campaigns. The expense of running an Independent campaign will have to be factored in as well, but you can take it that I will be running in the next local elections, and more than likely as an independent.”
Cllr McDonnell has not ruled out the independent route either but Fianna Fáil has been headhunting him since the end of the last general election. If he joins FF he would have to be added to the ticket along with councillors Michael J Crowe and Mary Leahy. However those two are nervous of Cllr McDonnell. Given his experience and political savvy they would see him as a threat to their position.
Many in FF would welcome Cllr McDonnell as it could increase the chance of three seats in Galway City East. However should there be tension from those cumanns opposed to his entry, he may decide it is best to run independent.
“I will be working with certain people in Fianna Fáil to see if they want me and if I will be acceptable to them,” he said. “Fianna Fáil is where I started. I have no difficulty though running as an independent. Either way I will endeavour to serve the people.”
The PDs on the Galway County Council are Cllr Tom Welby, Cllr Jim Cuddy, and Cllr Michael Moghie Maher.
Connemara’s Cllr Tom Welby will stand at the next local election as an independent candidate.
“I saw this decision coming and for the last five weeks I have consulted with my family and friends,” he said. “We have come to the conclusion that me running as an independent is the best option. I have had contact from Fianna Fáil but I am not looking at joining any party. It will be difficult but I am willing to go down this route.”
Cllr Cuddy is Dep Grealish’s ‘right hand man’ in Oranmore and it is widely believed that where Grealish goes, Cuddy will follow.
“People have read that into it, but I have not given any indication as to my intentions, it’s all speculation,” Cllr Cuddy told the Galway Advertiser. “It would be premature to make any decision until the meeting is held in October.”
Cllr Moghie Maher was Sen Cannon’s replacement on the county council. It is understood that Sen Cannon would be inclined to join Fine Gael so Cllr Maher may follow him if he does.
