Renua knew battle was lost six months before election

Author and former journalist John Drennan said he envisaged the campaign for Renua was going to be a âgrim struggleâ, with the party in the end returning no TDs to the Dail.
In an interview with Gavan Reilly on Today FMâs The Last Word, Mr Drennan, though, did not leave the blame for the campaign at the door of party leader, Lucinda Creighton.
Instead, he blamed politics and said the task of launching a smaller party with minimal resources had been the challenge.
âRenua was a concept when I arrived,â he said, and waiting to be âshaped and formedâ.
âThe problem was to try and communicate it,â he said, admitting that âdid not go superbly wellâ when it was left with no TDs.
But the former political correspondent said some of Renuaâs ideas would be carried on.
However, he added: âIt was always going to be a harsh struggle, forming itself in a very fast-paced harsh landscape.â
This was because other larger parties were already set up, better resourced and Renua was always âplaying catch upâ, he added.
The problems had been resources and a general revolt against party politics.
âPolitics still has to do a lot of thinking about its relevance,â Mr Drennan said.
Asked by Mr Reilly when the party strategist had realised Renua was losing the battle, he responded that had happened six months before the election.
âI always knew it was going to be a grim struggle.â
Huge pressure, he said, had been placed on party leader and former minister, Ms Creighton.
âShe carried it as well as she didâŠdid we have options, I donât think so.â