Ring is gone but he won't be forgotten

By Dr. Richard Martin

HEY hey, my my. The Ring is gone but he’s not forgotten.

Michael Ring announced his retirement from electoral politics last week. Fifteen years as a councillor and 30 as a TD. He reigned supreme.

His retirement leaves FG in Mayo in a conundrum. Will he choose his successor? And more importantly, will he be allowed to?

I think given the service he has given FG and the county he should be allowed to do that. He was the only FG politician to top the poll in the last GE as SF swept the boards across the country.

Lee Keegan would be a good choice. He looks good. He can speak and communicate. He has a huge profile from his days playing with Mayo.

The bottom line is if Lee Keegan was persuaded and had the full backing of Ring, he will be elected in the next GE.

Keegan not only would have the personal backing of Ring but the Ring machine would also fully endorse him.

Gerry Coyle in Geesala is a powerful and influential councillor. He is a vital cog in the Ring machine.

Councillor Donna Sheridan in Balla and Councillor Neil Cruise in Foxford are both closely aligned to Ring.

Former councillor Tom Connolly in Claremorris and Pat Chambers in Tiernaur, a prominent FG activist and recent local election candidate, are both Ring loyalists too. And that’s not mentioning the legions of Ring devotees in the Westport area.

Talking to a senior FG activist recently, he wasn’t overly enthused by the Keegan idea.

Another footballer he said. And sure what did they win?

Councillor Alma Gallagher in Ballyhaunis is another name being mentioned. Another excellent candidate.

Presently there is a huge gender imbalance in modern Irish politics. Gallagher could help change that.

But, if FG don’t back a Ring candidate they risk facing his wrath.

Supposing that FG opts for a non-Ring candidate, the Ring electoral machine will hardly back that candidate with the same enthusiasm as they would a Ring-anointed successor.

The Ring machine is probably stronger than the famed Blaney electoral machine in Donegal. FG would be very foolish to tamper with it.

And besides, ever since Kenny took the reins of the FG party in 2002, FG has always backed ‘celebrity’ candidates. Mairead McGuinness. John O’Mahony. George Lee. Nina Carberry. Maria Walsh. Alan Dillon.

FG see elections for one thing and one thing only. Winning. All of these candidates were elected regardless of their suitability or background.

I have never heard Nina Carberry MEP speak. A lovely person I’m sure but she wouldn’t have the same political abilities and capabilities as Senator Chambers.

The electorate can make strange decisions at the best of times.

Locally, some figures within FG were somewhat bemused and taken aback when they learned Alan Dillon was representing FG in the 2020 GE. He had never attended a local FG meeting up to that.

He’s a nice guy, a good role model and a family man. He has a massive work ethic and has built a formidable team in the town and district.

Councillor Ger Deere and the Burke machine are in his corner. That will virtually ensure his return to the Dáil.

He is running a good constituency office - the only one in the county town. But he hasn’t as of yet made the required transition from local pothole politics to national frontline politics.

Everyone would understand that after he was elected in 2020 he needed time and space to get used to his new surroundings in Leinster House. Nigh on five years later we’re still waiting for him to make a real splash.

A bit like standing at the diving boards in Salthill at high tide, dipping your toe in the water won’t do the trick. The best way is to close your eyes, jump and hope for the best.

Sink or swim. The third time is the charm.

A politician’s job is to engage in adversarial debate, not avoid it. It’s all well and good announcing €6,192,678 worth of funding for Ballintubber Abbey last May. Anyone can do that. That’s the easy part of his job. He is not dispensing his own money.

The continuous drib drab of announcing funding for major projects that may or may not materialise is becoming wearisome.

The real cost of the Ballintubber Abbey project is €6,841,864 and Mayo County Council have to make up the difference, which is €649,186.

Mayo County Council has to ‘match’ every major project in this fashion.

Currently, the total ‘matched’ funding required for every project in this county to proceed is €12,204,239. In the long term, this model is not sustainable.

Urgent legislative change in the Dáil is required. Mayo County Council cannot ‘match’ the funding for the bulk of these projects.

If the funding can’t be ‘matched’ the project can’t proceed, so the €6 million is sitting idly waiting to be spent whilst all the while the purchasing power of the sum is being eroded by inflation.

Has Deputy Dillon or the other three TDs made any noise in the Dáil chamber? Nope. That’s what their jobs are. Make some noise and push for real meaningful legislative change.

His performance during the PAC hearings last year was commendable but it wasn’t an adversarial debate.

But he apparently struggles when the conversation goes off script.

DUFFY FOR FINE GAEL IN NORTH MAYO

Fine Gael needs a candidate in north Mayo.

Former TD Michelle Mulherin and Councillor John O’Hara, who holds the position of cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, are very unlikely to be candidates in general election 2024.

Getting Councillor Mark Duffy on the party ticket is crucial for FG in north Mayo.

The Independent councillor is young, articulate and a poll topper.

Duffy comes from a Fianna Fáil background. There is no hope of him being on the FF ticket whilst Calleary is still in active politics.

He will not make it on the national stage as an independent. He doesn’t have the party machine.

If there is a difference between the two establishment parties in terms of policy I cannot see it.

Representing FG is a win-win for both Councillor Duffy and FG.

The people of Ballina would not see him as a sweeper candidate and would give him a massive push for a seat. If he has ambitions to participate in national politics, it’s his only option.

If Dillon, Keegan and Duffy were all on the FG ticket for the upcoming general election they could return three deputies to the Dáil.

Currently, the wind is at the back of the establishment parties. Combined, FFG are at sitting on 42%.

As we get closer and closer to the GE, the tide is running out for Sinn Féin. Every opinion poll in the past year has been a death knell to their ambitions to lead the next government.

Sinn Féin won’t say it out loud but Ring’s retirement may have saved Rose Conway-Walsh’s seat.

If Ring was still in the ring, it would not be a formality being returned to the Dáil regardless of her wonderful result in the last GE.

Hey hey, my my. The Ring is gone but he’s not forgotten. Micheál, go raibh maith agat as gach rud.