Mayo view: Failure to treat politicians with respect is shocking reflection on democracy

The level of abuse and vitriol is undoubtedly new - and totally unacceptable

by Caoimhín Rowland

Irish politics looks like it’s beginning to lose one of its most enduring tropes, the family political dynasty.

Mayo has no Kenny in the council or in the Dáil.

The 2020 general election signalled the end of the lasting family name that stood the test of time since 1954.

Alan Dillon stepped into that hot seat, kept warm by Enda and Henry before him, to retain the Dáil seat late on count night in February 2020.

It seems his reward as a public representative is to be accosted outside Tesco in Castlebar on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps by witnessing that curdling video clip we understand why the Kenny clan called time on political life.

Family businesses are intriguing. Children grow up as workers, and know the ins and outs better than their peers know their ten times tables.

The kitchen table allows them from an early age to see what is precisely involved in keeping the show on the road.

Charlie Flanagan is another who has decided to call time on a long career in politics and has spoken about first canvassing for his father at the age of 11.

A simpler time in politics, when clientelism and knowledge of local roads, family names and a discerning charm were enough to get you to Leinster House.

Now politicians are like Premier League football managers, with teams of assistants and PR gurus working for them, curating the best image possible at all times and ensuring they’re abreast on topics of the day.

Talking points which vary in importance and relevance from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., such is the unrelenting nature of the modern beast.

The level of abuse and vitriol faced by politicians is undoubtedly new - and totally unacceptable.

I can’t for the life of me find one job that seemingly warrants the same attacks, indiscriminately and at innocent family members.

Maybe it stems from the perception that elected representatives are no longer people we know in our community.

Clinics are a thing of the past and due to the terminally online brigade. They see politicians as characters to berate and not as human beings.

The benefits of dynasties are vast. Enda surpassed his father and became leader of the country, during one of the most difficult eras in recent times.

Indeed Dara Calleary, another in our constituency who knows the game better than most, is practically running Fianna Fáil behind the scenes. The Calleary name has been synonymous with Fianna Fáil in Mayo since the 1950s.

The Ballina man was his party's director of elections in 2020 and despite his golf gate faux pas in 2020 he has enjoyed an almost entirely unblemished political career.

Now back as a minister of state, he is no longer deployed in the poison chalice of the Department of Agriculture (ask Charlie McConalogue how safe he feels in his Donegal seat).

Calleary’s is the position of highest office in comparison to any other Mayo TD, his ministerial brief at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment doesn’t give him a seat in the cabinet but does allow him to garner credit for record-breaking employment levels.

Taking about family political dynasties, will we ever see a member of the Flynn family, Castlebar, back in the Oireachtas?

Why not?

Networking, name recognition and nous are key factors that argue in favour of political success.

Knowing who it is you’re voting for is as crucial as knowing who to vote for.

Alan Dillon’s was a name everyone in Mayo knew before he entered the political arena.

An established career as an inter-county football star for Mayo made him instantly recognisable and allowed him to be parachuted into a general election without ever having to contest a local ballot.

The generational transfer of knowledge cannot be underestimated as this exchange of information can help politicians to navigate the complexities of the political landscape more effectively.

Dynasties can also become stale but re-emerge from unlikely places.

We know the electorate is demanding change, and 2020’s results were a sign of that, yet the formation of a status quo government with Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Greens, albeit historic, has been essentially underwhelming.

The elephant in the room for Fine Gael in Mayo is whether Michael Ring will contest the next election.

As of now he is.

But if Fine Gael needs to search for a swift replacement, consisting of name recognition, blueprints may already be drawn up in Westport to keep the seat inside the Ring.

There's nothing surer, as the Covies might say!