FF strategy guru Mara bids to ease constituency feud

FIANNA Fáil’s election guru PJ Mara travelled to Cork South West last night to reassure disgruntled local members about election strategy in the constituency.

There is palpable resentment among some Fianna Fáil activists in Cork South West after party headquarters decided not to hold a convention in January and instead selected sitting TD Denis O’Donovan and independent councillor Christy O’Sullivan, who left Fianna Fáil in the 1990s.

Supporters of another aspiring candidate, Cllr Alan Coleman, felt Cllr O’Sullivan was imposed on the party and that the decision had been undemocratic.

It is also understood that those close to outgoing Deputy Joe Walsh were not happy with Mr O’Sullivan’s selection.

During a visit to neighbouring constituencies last month, Mr Mara promised to address the concerns of the membership.

He arrived in Bandon last night to justify the reasons why Cllr O’Sullivan was preferred over Cllr Coleman and why Fianna Fáil was running two candidates and not three.

“It would be lunacy to run three candidates in a three-seat constituency,” said Mr Mara. “I have done the sums and that’s what I want to illustrate to them.”

Fianna Fáil are running three candidates in two other three-seaters but by dint of electoral changes and political reasons all six of their candidates in Cork North West and Donegal North East are sitting TDs.

Mr Mara said Fianna Fáil’s strategy in recent elections has been to minimise the number of candidates to maximise the number of seats.

“There used to be a thing in Irish politics where there was a candidate in every half parish. It doesn’t work. If Charlie Haughey had used the same strategy as Fianna Fáil has used since 1997 he would never have lost an election,” said Mr Mara.

The sitting Fianna Fáil TD, Mr O’Donovan, welcomed the move but said the healing of wounds was coming very late in the day.

“The decision by HQ should have been done a year earlier. It’s very late in the day, though I’m still very optimistic that Alan Coleman will still play with the Fianna Fáil jersey,” he said.

However, many local activists believe that Fianna Fáil tarried so much choosing its candidates the party is in danger of losing its second seat to PJ Sheehan of Fine Gael.

Problems for Fianna Fáil

THE rows stem from a decision at the 2003 FF Árd Fheis in late 2003 that gave the right of ultimate decision on candidate selection to a all-powerful constituency committee headed by Brian Cowen.

Donegal North East: Jim McDaid ‘unretired’ himself in protest at Niall Blaney joining the party. Crisis eventually rResolved when three candidates declared.

Galway West: Convention chaos over running three or four candidates.

Mayo: After Beverly Flynn’s expulsion, convention selected three candidates.

Cork North West: Sitting FF TDs Donal Moynihan, Michael Moynihan and Batt O’Keeffe will slug it out for only two seats.

Dublin North East: Senator Liam Fitzgerald resigned the party whip this week over HQ’s decision not to hold a convention.