Mayo politics is struggling to find Michael Ring's replacement

by Caoimhín Rowland

Ten years on from the abolishment of town councils, sitting government parties are scrambling nationwide to fill the void left by retiring long-term TDs.

Fine Gael, in particular, is struggling to identify candidates to replace long-serving deputies.

In Mayo, Michael Ring himself has well documented that there is no "ready-made" replacement.

Indeed, if there ever was to be a "Ring-lite," they would have emerged by now, potentially leaving a chasm in the Westport area come the general election.

In the absence of town councils, which were once an ideal platform for prospective politicians, RTÉ has stepped in to fill the gap. Gráinne Seoige is the latest celebrity candidate to throw her hat in the ring.

Michéal Martin's party senses further success after Cynthia Ní Mhúrchu’s European Parliament win in Ireland South last June.

Of course, Mayo’s own Maria Walsh followed the blueprint in Europe that saw Mairead McGuinness transition from a scribe to an EU commissioner. She was once an RTÉ farming presenter during her time as a journalist.

Nina Carberry, too, has appeared on and won Dancing with the Stars as well as hosted segments on the national broadcaster’s Ireland’s Fittest Family.

Fine Gael has navigated the celebrity path more successfully than any other party. There is, of course, the infamous George Lee example: after his by-election win and subsequent nine months of work, he packed it in and returned to Montrose.

Ciaran Mullooly has fared more successfully, becoming the first-ever Independent Ireland MEP before joining Fianna Fáil’s party in Brussels, Renew.

In Mayo, Alan Dillon got the nod after a stellar career representing the green and red of Mayo.

Ironically, his best performance has come during his time on the public accounts committee, grilling RTÉ chiefs over the apparent misuse of public funds.

The sentiment is undoubtedly negative toward the public broadcaster, but how it has become an incubator of political talent is bizarre.

If the same phenomenon were happening in a perceived failed state in Central America, we’d rightly hear cries of “Banana Republic” from journalists at the very same broadcaster.

How can the public feel confident that politicians are being held to account when presenters themselves are eyeing a future under a government party banner?

Miriam O’Callaghan has been consistently linked with a Fianna Fáil presidential bid. But as Fine Gael in Mayo is learning, the celebrity well runs dry, and the lack of experienced legislators and councillors at the local level is beginning to bite hard. The public faces grave peril due to poor representation.

Supporters of this tactic may point to Zelensky in Ukraine. He jumped from a TV comic acting as the President of Ukraine to leading his country during a time of war against an advancing Russian occupation.

Yet, for the apparent success of the former Eastern European comedian, across the Atlantic, a former reality TV star aims to make this the last ever US general election after disgracefully leaving office four years ago.

Former president of the GAA, Sean Kelly, is the most successful out of the lot — a clever and shrewd politician now enjoying his fourth term in Brussels.

His experience as the leader of the nation’s largest sporting body served him well in preparation for political life. The same cannot be so easily said about sports stars. It took Alan Dillon a year or two to come to grips with life as a TD.

It’s a tough job, with long hours and a grueling, non-stop schedule. Lee Keegan has been approached by the party.

“He performs well on RTÉ,” people say, referencing his time as a GAA pundit on the national broadcaster. Indeed, he’s charismatic, savvy, communicates well, and, most importantly, he’s from Westport.

Fianna Fáil, while coalescing with Fine Gael in Leinster House, has picked up a thing or two about how their operation is run.

The move to replace Éamon Ó Cuív with Gráinne Seoige is shrewd—she’s highly regarded and easily electable in the safe seat. But TV stars should never make up the bulk of any nation’s parliament.

It’s unsustainable and frankly comical that the two largest parties are struggling to drum up the human capital required within their own ranks to fill seats across the country.

Ring was right when he bemoaned the abolishment of local town councils; every party in Ireland had a hand in that move.

But try convincing the public that what this country needs is more politicians, and they’d laugh you out the gap.