McGuinness insists Ferris is a racing certainty to retain seat for Sinn Féin

SINN FÉIN deputy leader Martin McGuinness went to the dogs in Kerry at the weekend with local TD Martin Ferris by his side, as they stole the show at the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium.

Mr McGuinness was a popular visitor in a town with strong Republican traditions and he was given a warm welcome by astute sporting punters who might also be wise to have a wager on Deputy Ferris to retain his Dáil seat — although the odds might not be too generous.

Mr McGuinness took in the event as part of an overnight visit to the key Kerry North-Limerick West constituency and after meeting party officials and canvassers later on Friday night, he was back on the streets of Tralee to meet and greet voters on Saturday morning at the same time that Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was canvassing in nearby Killarney.

Mr McGuinness and his local strategists are confident that Mr Ferris will comfortably retain his seat, despite a strong surge from the left with Labour’s Arthur J Spring expected to follow in his uncle Dick’s footsteps in the corridors of power.

With Fine Gael’s Jimmy Deenihan likely to top the poll in convincing fashion, local polls and opinion on the street point to Deputy Ferris and Councillor Spring — the current Mayor of Tralee — taking the other two seats with Fianna Fáil TD Tom McEllistrim the predicted big casualty.

After a quick tour of Tralee town centre on Saturday morning, Mr McGuinness and Mr Ferris set out for the town of Abbeyfeale which is now a key part of the new-look Kerry North-Limerick West constituency.

Meanwhile, four independent candidates have entered the election race in Kerry North-Limerick West.

Dr Bridget O’Brien, a 56-year-old GP from Boherbee, Tralee, said problems in the health service and the need for better cancer care are high on her agenda. She is seeking a seat primarily on a health and welfare platform.

Seasoned political observers in the constituency insist Dr O’Brien is likely to garner a significant share of the first preference vote in the Tralee urban area and her campaign has been boosted by the backing of former general election candidate David Grey, who has severed his long-standing ties with the Green Party as he disagreed with policies and priorities pursued.

Also in the running is Mary Fitzgibbon, a Tralee-based nurse and a lecturer at the Institute of Technology in Tralee, who has the support of the Kerry Public Service Workers’ Alliance. She said her chief concerns are a fairer deal for public service workers and the need to ensure improvements in the health service.

She also wants increased taxation at the top end of the scale for the wealthier in society and the provision of free education and health care.

Tralee Town Council member Sam Locke said he has decided to contest the election to seek better job creation ideas for the people of Tralee and to fight for a better system of care in the health service.

Mr Locke, who unsuccessfully contested the last general election, when he polled less than 400 first preference votes, said he wants the universal social charge abolished but if this is not possible then people should be able to get benefits in kind.

The other independent candidate is Michael Reidy, from a farming background in Kielduff, Tralee.

He has campaigned against the Nice and Lisbon Treaties and unsuccessfully contested the 1992 general election.

Mr Reidy is seeking the separation of private bankers’ debt from sovereign debt and the restructuring of the state’s energy and mineral resources.

The Green Party’s candidate is 72-year-old environmentalist Tom Donovan from Tarbert, who was an independent candidate in the last general election.