Joey O’ Hanrahan has finally decided to follow his heart and put himself forward for election for Kilkenny County Council although he has a verbal pre-nup promising his wife that he would never do it!
With politics virtually flowing through his veins, Joey is no stranger to the ups and downs of being a public representative. His father, Petie O’ Hanrahan was a Fine Gael councillor for Thomastown in his time and politics was always being discussed in the O’ Hanrahan household when Joey was growing up.
“I’ve been involved in Fine Gael since I can remember. I was putting up posters for my Dad when I was in short trousers. I have personally been involved in the Thomastown Fine Gael branch for the past 20 years. I’ve been chairman for the past three years and I have been chair of the district branch also. Fine Gael has been a large part of my life, as has Thomastown and the surrounding areas. I ‘ve lived there for most of my life bar a short period that I spent in London when I was training. It was always in the back of my mind to run for the council and I was just waiting for the right time. I think this is the right time now. When Andy Cotterall was running I wouldn’t run against him, but he is not running this time around.”
Joey is married to Fran who works as PA to Senator John Paul Phelan in his Thomastown office, and Senator Phelan is a big advocate of Joey’s and launched his campaign some weeks ago in Thomstown. They are good friends and Joey is thankful for his consistent support.
Electoral Areas
This year the candidates running in Thomastown will be at a disadvantage in comparison to other years since the re-shuffle of the electoral area boundaries, when Thomastown lost a seat to the Callan electoral area. Joey is still hopeful that Fine Gael can win at least two seats, with his hopes pinned on himself securing one of those seats.
“Currently Pat O’Neill is the only sitting councillor for Fine Gael, Willie Barron and I are also running for Fine Gael in this area and we are hopeful of gaining two seats. There are only four seats this year so one person will be losing their seat one way or the other at least. I will be hoping that I will be able to pull a second seat for Fine Gael but it is all to play for. We are all canvassing our own areas and hopefully it will pay off on election day. We have to work together to get two seats and there is no guarantee we will get them,” he said.
However, we’re at a disadvantage as we have lost the Johnswell area and parts of the Rower. My area is Inistioge, Ballyhale and Thomastown. So I am hoping that the loss of these areas will not affect me too much,” he added.
Joey was a jump jockey for some years, though, his occupation in farm supplies is a little less risky these days. He is a well-known face in the Thomastown area and when he appears on the doorsteps he is being greeted favourably as a familiar face. He maintains an interest in the horses and his daughter Joanne is carrying on his interest. However, even canvassing takes second place if there is a hurling match that his son Robert is taking part in and GAA is definitely high on the list of priorities in the O’Hanrahan household.
“I would be familiar with most people in my area as I have been involved in the GAA and the community for a long time now. People are positive to me on the doorstep. I’m getting good vibes and people are happy to see a new face. I’m getting lots of good wishes and hopefully they will transfer into votes,” said Joey.
Priority issues
Joey isn’t running for any one particular cause, but he is aware of the problematic areas in his surrounds and he hoping to be able to speak about these issues as a councillor in the coming months.
“Unemployment is a big problem in our electoral area. We were promised the decentralisation of the Health and Safety Authority and this hasn’t happened and I am not too confident that it will now. Even if this wouldn’t have brought new jobs in the authority to the area, it would certainly have had a knock-on trade and these jobs would have been for small and medium-sized businesses. I am hoping that the Government will not completely renege on this decision and we will see the authority out in Thomastown in the future. We need to put pressure on our local minister John McGuinness to see it through,” he said.
Safety measures at schools are also an issue that Joey is particularly worried about in Thomastown.
“There is a new school and no safety precautions in place as there is some problem with ownership of land. The school needs a pedestrian crossing, ramps and lights which would make the area around the school safe for children crossing the road and coming and going from school. It’s vital this happens before there is an accident.”
Joey is also very insistent that there be a community healthcare centre located in Thomastown.
“Currently the people of Thomastown have to go to Kilkenny to get their eyes checked, x-rays carried out or any other minor medical procedure done. If there was a health centre in the area, this would not be necessary. They could just visit their local clinic which would be a huge advantage to the elderly and those with small children. This would also improve on waiting list problems being experienced at St Luke’s Hospital. We need a one-stop-shop for health services in the town,” he said.
Joey is also hopeful that Lidl will be opening in the town in the not-too-distant future.
“It has got the go-ahead but it is not open as of yet. I am delighted as it will keep people shopping in our own area and it will also create jobs for our own area which is vital to our community. If people are coming to Thomastown to shop, it will also bring much-needed knock-on trade for our other local businesses and this is what is needed right now - business and jobs.”
Farming is an area that Joey is very familiar with and he hears first-hand the problems that the farming community are encountering in Kilkenny every day of the week. He understands their concerns and he is hopeful that once the economy picks up things will also pick up for farmers.
“Milk prices have never been so low. Subsidies have been cut and sheep farmers are really struggling. Farmers had grown to depend on subsidies and now they are not getting them. This is a large percentage of their income cut in one fell swoop. The future was clear and farmers had budgeted for a certain income from subsidies but all this has changed, leaving them in a very precarious position,” he added.
