Mayo's Patsy O'Brien seeking to take his local politics to national level
by Conor Curran
Patsy O’Brien has been a strong voice in Mayo politics for some years now.
In recent times, however, he’s found himself in the running for national politics.
Having announced his general election campaign in August, he’s had some time to canvass and prepare for a whole new challenge.
His history of local election campaigns is an impressive one. In 2019, O’Brien broke a record, reaching the highest ever first preference vote by a local election candidate in Mayo.
His run for the Dáil is inspired, according to him, by his urge to serve, and a desire to expand upon the work he’s already done as a councillor.
“It’s a huge task and one that I thought long and hard about.
“I’ve been representing people since I was 19,” he stated. “I’ve given my life to representation.”
Despite O’Brien running as an independent, following his expulsion from Fine Gael in 2020, he’s not alone in this race.
The Connaught Telegraph reported in September that an alliance had been formed between independent Mayo councillors, chaired by Michael Kilcoyne.
Although Patsy hopes he’ll be the one sitting in Dáil Éireann, he’s said he’ll be happy to see any of his alliance elected.
“It’s the people’s choice.”
If he or Chris Maxwell are elected, they will be Mayo’s first independent TD since Dr. Jerry Cowley in 2002.
In fact Patsy been “working closely” with Independent Ireland, who themselves are new to the work that goes into a general election campaign.
The issues on O’Brien’s agenda clearly stem from his work as a councillor.
He hopes to see progress made on the Western Rail Corridor, improvements on the R312, and to generally prevent neglect of his portion of the county.
This includes an increase in capital projects for areas such as Shrule and Carnacon, which he feels is vital.
On a more national level, housing is something he also feels strongly about.
“You can’t fix the housing issue by entirely focusing on social and affordable houses. We need to encourage people to build their own homes by making it easier for them.”
Increased policing, improvements in disability access, and support for farmers are also key issues on his agenda.
His campaign is underlined by just five words – “A voice with a difference.”