June’s Local Election could be the chance for Labour to make a real breakthrough in Galway city politics and establish itself as a dominant and vibrant force.
The party knows this is its best chance in years and that it must capitalise on Fianna Fáil’s descent in the polls and Fine Gael’s stagnation. It also knows it is the only party in Galway city with the realistic chance of gaining seats.
In Galway City East, the party is running three candidates. Sitting Cllr Tom Costello is expected to hold his seat. Derek Nolan is regarded as a strong and coming force who is regarded by all sides as ‘the one to watch’ in June and a likely seat winner.
The third candidate is Nuala Nolan (no relation of Derek ) and while Labour will not take three seats in Galway City East, Ms Nolan is not about to let anyone write her off or dismiss her chances. “I am playing to win,” she tells me.
Ms Nolan knows that many regard her as the ‘sweeper candidate’ but she is not put out by being seen as the underdog.
“People will see me in that way but then they don’t know me,” she laughs. “I work in Boston Scientific where there is a very large workforce so if they rally around me I will do better than people think.
“There is a women’s vote out there too and if people are moving away from Fianna Fáil and the ‘same old faces’, they might be willing to vote for you if you are new. People might give you a chance.”
Ms Nolan is well known to many readers of the Galway Advertiser as a regular letter writer. She is also involved in the Galway Choral Association, the St Augustine’s Choir, and the Western Family History Association.
Ms Nolan does not see herself as a career politician. “I’m more issues driven,” she says. So why did she decide to run for election to the Galway City Council?
“I feel that people in the work force are never listened to and it’s about time they were consulted,” she says. “If city officials went into the canteen in Boston Scientific and talked to people about their needs and experiences, they would come away with a lot to think about.
“I know there is a lot of loyalty to Cllr Terry O’Flaherty and Cllr Declan McDonnell but I’ve always thought ‘why should Ballybane and Mervue, etc, be PD areas?’ They are more like a natural Labour constituency and that’s another reason I wanted to run.”
Regarding campaign issues, Ms Nolan believes there should be a primary and secondary school in Doughiska and that the approach to providing those schools is achieving nothing but unnecessary delays.
“The schools could be sited on the grounds of the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel and Galway Crystal,” she said. “Why is it always thought that if you want a new school we have to find a place for it, rather than looking at the places that are already available - places that can be converted?”
She is also concerned with planning and quality of life issues.
“Before planning permission is given for housing estates, part of the permission should be that the roads, paths, and community facilities should be in place,” she says. “That is the way it is done in Canada and it should be the case in Ireland.”
Ms Nolan is confident for Labour as it faces into June and she feels that some of that potential Labour bounce can come her way.
“The challenge is to win people away from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and there is still a little bit of a lack of trust of the left,” she says. “It’s our best chance of making a breakthrough and it’s up to us to maximise what’s in the polls and turn it into seats and then bring it further.”
