Phyllis aims to follow in son’s steps

SPARE a thought for the mothers of the candidates running for the first time in this Friday’s local elections.

The anxiety the mammies suffer is greater than that of the contenders themselves.

Just ask Phyllis McCarthy. There were numerous sleepless nights when her son, Michael, at the tender age of 22, was running for the first time for the Labour Party back in 1999. Now the tables are turned as she’s a candidate herself in the same Skibbereen electoral area of Cork County Council, yet she says it’s not actually as stressful an experience.