Crusader O’Flynn beaten but far from broken

It was the only time he took it lying down — beaten but far from broken.

The surprise package of Ireland South, Diarmuid O’Flynn, who has been urging the nation to stand up and fight against the “injustice” of the bank bailout, had to spend some time on the flat of his back in the count centre at the Nemo Rangers complex yesterday.

Struggling with back pain, and like a mighty midfielder weary in the dying minutes of a game against the favourites, the burn the bondholders crusader lay on a couch in the foyer of GAA complex keeping a close eye on the drawn-out count process.

Transfers flowed his way throughout the day. But despite his incredible electoral performance, pushing the main parties right to the wire, the odds and the clock were just against him.

The final whistle for Team Ballyhea came just after 2pm and with a phenomenal total of 51,387 votes, O’Flynn was eliminated on the 10th count.

Like a gallant hurling team which fought hard, clean and honest, he and his election team left the count centre to sustained applause, their heads held high.

“You gave it some rattle,” a Fine Gael supporter said as O’Flynn led them off the field.

His campaign manager, Fiona Fitzpatrick, praised everyone involved in their epic European campaign.

“It’s a small team but a very tight group of people,” she said.

Without any experience of managing an election campaign, and without the benefit of a party machine and the financial resources that come with it, they organised, planned, strategised their entire campaign over kitchen tables.

“We approached it the same way we do everything else — with a lot of heart and a lot of spirit... and a lot of pride.

“When you’re armed with the truth, it’s very easy to go in to battle.

“We went out to do what many people said was an impossibility.

“And we came pretty close. Especially when you consider the resources we had.

“When you look at who is left standing, the two main established parties, that says an awful lot to me.

“It’s quite an extraordinary achievement for a team of our size.”

They said they take “huge heart” from their performance.

“We proved a lot to a lot of people. There was a lot of substance to this campaign,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.

“Diarmuid O’Flynn is a huge winner in the room today.”

Another GAA man, Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly, held his lead throughout the day. Party hacks with the stamina of marathon runners watched the long drawn out nip-and-tuck battle behind him between Clune and Harris, with Hartley nipping at their heels.

The early talk in the Clune camp turned from ‘can she do it?’ to, by mid afternoon, “we think she can do it”.

Whether it was geography or the female vote, they didn’t care as long as the transfers came her way. Talk like “the bounce of the ball is with her now” changed around tea-time, with phrases like, “once the tide is with her, she’ll be fine” flying around the count centre.

But it wasn’t in the bag until the very end.

When the results of the 12th count were announced just after 7pm, it was confirmed that Kelly had retained his seat without reaching the quota.

The relief in the Clune camp was visible when she finally clinched the fourth seat — completing a Fine Gael double.

Afterwards, they both batted off questions about inter-camp spats during the campaign with Kelly suggesting they’d present a united front in Europe, and that he planned to celebrate with a cup of Barry’s Tea.

He also expressed his delight that his re-election was announced in the sports hall for which he laid the foundation stone, and later officially opened in his capacity as GAA president.

‘I won’t run for Dáil but fight for debt write-down will go on’

Bank debt crusader Diarmuid O’Flynn has ruled out running for the Dáil.

Mr O’Flynn, 61, the man behind the sustained Ballyhea Says No campaign in north Cork, was speaking yesterday after he was eliminated after the 10th count in the Ireland South constituency.

He said he was happy with his performance — polling more first preference votes in the first count than outgoing Labour MEP Phil Prendergast and Brian Crowley’s running mate Kieran Hartley.

Despite picking up thousands of transfers across Monday and yesterday, it was the transfer of 20,000 votes from Crowley’s surplus to Hartley after the second count which effectively ended his chances of winning a seat.

“We’re not surprised at all by the return because that was the reaction we were getting on the ground,” Mr O’Flynn said.

“We would have preferred another few weeks on the campaign trail to reach more people.

“But the bigger thing here is that we have managed to get the bank debt back on the agenda, and specifically the promissory notes issue.

“Everybody now knows the questions the Fine Gael guys refused to answer and the reason they refused to answer, is because the money is going to be burned.

“And that is the one thing they have failed to tell the people.

“But we will still be campaigning in Ballyhea for that debt write-down, and we won’t consider we’ve achieved anything until we get that debt write-down.”

Asked he if would consider running in the next general election, he said no.

“Europe is where it’s at,” he said.

“We launched our campaign in Kilmallock Mart and I said if Michael Noonan went down to the mart on a Monday morning to sell a bullock, Michael Noonan would be the man bought and sold, because they haven’t got a clue how to negotiate.

“They’ve given away the shop, Enda and Noonan have, in the way they negotiated the bank debt.

“They prostrated themselves in front of Germany and France and played the good boy in everything they’ve been asked to do and then hope that they get the crumbs that fall from the table.”

His focus now returns to the Ballyhea Says No campaign and he will be back marching in the village next Sunday.

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