For the first time since 1926, FF could lose the keys to the Kingdom
There has been a kind of tradition of family seats in Kerry. Fred Crowley represented Fianna Fáil in the Dáil from 1927 until his death in 1945, when he was replaced by his wife Honor (nee Boland), who represented Kerry South until her death in 1966. She was the daughter of John Pius Boland, who had represented South Kerry in the British Parliament from 1900 to 1918. Of course, he was most famous as Ireland’s first Olympic champion. He won the men’s singles and was part of the winning men’s doubles team in tennis at the first modern Olympics at Athens in 1896.
John O’Leary of Fianna Fáil won the seat in a 1966 by-election and held it for over 30 years, before he stepped down in 1997. Fianna Fáil then nominated his son Brian, much to the fury of Jack Healy-Rae, who apparently saw the nomination as his right, having worked for the party over the decades. In frustration, he bolted Fianna Fáil and ran as an independent, taking the seat and holding it ever since.
