‘Local solutions can solve national politics’
And, so we find ourselves aboard John Moore’s ferry to the beautiful Heir Island five minutes from Cunnamore Pier in West Cork. Kearney, an independent candidate based in Baltimore, is anxious to do some canvassing there. Just 29 voters are registered on the 2.5km island — and none of the other candidates have made the crossing yet. So far, his is the only election poster on the island.
At the first house on the island, John is eyed with a degree of suspicion by the woman answering the door. In her 40s, she doesn’t give away much about her voting intentions: just asks John what party he is and when he answers “Independent”, she nods and scans his elections leaflet.
He asks her to “please read it” and she nods again. And then we’re off.
Kearney has run the Baltimore Diving Centre for the past 20 years, the Fastnet Catch restaurant in Clonakilty and is in the midst of establishing a gluten-free fish processing business in Skibbereen.
As we trundle around the island’s narrow country roads in Moore’s jeep, the father-of-three tells me has no interest in joining a political party as “the party system has failed us”.
“Something has to be done urgently in this country and the parties don’t have the solution... If I had faith in the current party system, I wouldn’t be running,” he says. His fear is that, “for all the talk of reform, a new Government will fall into the same old ways of doing things once they get into power”.
He fervently believes “the ideas and solutions needed to get us out of the economic crisis must come from the ground up” and we have to maximise the potential of our fishing, farming and tourism industries.
“Yes, national politics need to be fixed but local solutions can solve national problems,” he says.
He points to the work being done at local level by the Carbery Enterprise Group, by businesses to draw people into the town and also to the community effort that allowed Baltimore locals take over the running of the local hotel leisure centre when the Baltimore Harbour Hotel. Kearney is involved in both community projects.
It’s early afternoon on Heir Island and a driving rain has enveloped the island in a grey fog. Lots of the houses are empty but one of the islanders best-known residents, chef, John Desmond is at home with his wife, Ellmary Fenton.
John and Ellmary Fenton have run the Island Cottage Restaurant from their island home for the past 21 years — a menu that can change daily depending on what local produce can be accessed.
The couple agree with John Kearney on the bureaucratic monster that is smothering small businesses in this country. “Even to sell wine for three months, we have to spend €500 for a wine licence. It used to be €250. We’re also pay year-round rates even though the restaurant is only open for a short summer season,” says Ellmary.
The couple explain to John that they “constantly had to think outside the box” once they moved to Heir. “We’ve set up the restaurant, the gallery, the private dinners service. The tourist season has got progressively shorter in recent years and we had to adapt as we need to earn income year round,” says Ellmary.
John is appalled at the concept of the “bankers still getting bonuses”.
“The lives of the top people, the bankers and politicians, just aren’t being affected by this”.
Both he and his wife, as self-starters, are not happy with the “entitlements culture” that they see across the country. “The dole was not supposed to be something to live on long term. We’ve always had to find new ways of making living. People have to learn how to help themselves,” John bristles.
John Kearney explains his own business background and how “it would be a lot easier for me to start up a business in France or Germany than start something up here. There would be 10 times less resistance”.
Everyone in the room nods.
Further up the road, we meet another couple, Paul and Sarah Mathews, who run their own leadership and corporate coaching business, Mobius from the island.
“We work in Britain, Norway and across the world. We’d work anywhere bar Ireland as the business structures are so ridiculous here,” Paul says.
As we leave the island, John Kearney brings over a leaflet to artist Melanie Hann who is waiting to collect her daughters from the boat after school. English-born, she apologises for being “not informed enough” about Irish politics and promises to read John’s election leaflet which highlights jobs, political reform and public sector reform as his policy issues.
“To be honest, we pretty much have our heads in our hands at the moment,” she says to John.
“The art market is the first thing to go in a recession and the last thing to return when the improvement comes. Its very, very tricky for us at the moment.”
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