Galway’s Fianna Fáil faithful are a bit pissed (No, there’s not another think-in today ). We mean angry, and not at Brian Cowen’s fairly lacklustre performance as Taoiseach, or the health service, or the global financial crisis. No, the boys on the ground are annoyed at a new TD coming on board.
Noel Grealish, the Cristiano Ronaldo of Galway politics, after a will he won’t he campaign that has dominated the last few months and ultimately now killed off the PDs, is all set to become the third sitting Fianna Fáil TD in Galway West.
And like Ronaldo, Grealish has hardly endeared him to anyone these past months. Yesterday in The Sunday Business Post former PD National Executive member Tadhg Kearney showed his distaste at Grealish and added, the party “should not be providing him with a soft exit”.
What does that mean for his standing in Fianna Fáil? Already there have been reports of anger on the ground at the Grealish move, who’s expected to be joined by Cllr Declan McDonnell and Cllr Jim Cuddy.
One party source told Galway First, “A lot of the hardcore party members aren’t happy with this. They saw the PDs walk out on Fianna Fáil and now they think they can just stroll back in again”.
The strong opinions of the local party’s organisation are, though, in reality, an after thought to the political masters in Dublin as the last general election convention demonstrated.
Grealish will come on board to join Frank Fahey and Eamon O Cuiv as sitting deputies and that will be that.
