General Election time

[bracknaghboy]

I feel that Fine Gael have made a major cock-up in not getting another Enright to run in Olwyn's place. Surely Mundy is the man to take this country forward!!!

I know this was tongue in cheek, but it does hit on one huge flaw in our system. Already three of our sitting TD's are second generation. This carry on where people consider a Dáil seat to be like a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation is a quare load of muck altogether. Anything we could do to cut down on that would be a good thing.

Agree 100% with this. Don't be surprised if one of Cowens daughters is put forward in a few years as a candidate. You would like to think that people are intelligent enough to judge a candidate on their merits (or lack of) and not cast a vote based on a person being related to so and so but this is what happens.

[Bord na Mona man]

I feel that Fine Gael have made a major cock-up in not getting another Enright to run in Olwyn's place. Surely Mundy is the man to take this country forward!!!

I know this was tongue in cheek, but it does hit on one huge flaw in our system. Already three of our sitting TD's are second generation. This carry on where people consider a Dáil seat to be like a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation is a quare load of muck altogether. Anything we could do to cut down on that would be a good thing.

Agree 100% with this. Don't be surprised if one of Cowens daughters is put forward in a few years as a candidate. You would like to think that people are intelligent enough to judge a candidate on their merits (or lack of) and not cast a vote based on a person being related to so and so but this is what happens.

As Brian Lenihan would say - I don't accept that.
The politicians keep telling us that we have a very intelligent electorate. And who am I to doubt them!

I expect that come election time the voters in Leix-Offaly will carefully evaluate the merits on each candidate.
Where they stand on issues like taxation, bank bailouts, health system reform, privatisation, job stimulus, law and order, welfare, the environment and the like.

We are electing people to run the country for us after all. It would never be done flippantly.

[turk]

I feel that Fine Gael have made a major cock-up in not getting another Enright to run in Olwyn's place. Surely Mundy is the man to take this country forward!!!

I know this was tongue in cheek, but it does hit on one huge flaw in our system. Already three of our sitting TD's are second generation. This carry on where people consider a Dáil seat to be like a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation is a quare load of muck altogether. Anything we could do to cut down on that would be a good thing.

If there's one thing as bad as family seats in Irish politics, then it is bringing in celebrity style candidates with little or no background in politics! If I was a young local councillor or party activist willing to do the groundwork and build up a profile to go forward only for the party to parachute in some one from outside the party, then I'd be utterly and abjectly píssed off!

[TheManFromFerbane]

I always vote for the candidate with the funniest name

[Lone Shark]

I'd imagine that after watching Vincent Browne last night, the possibility of Brian Cowen not running must have increased. According to the Daily Mail (and let;s make sure we qualify all comments as such so as not to get sued) our Taoiseach knew that Anglo was in trouble, but approached the NTMA anyway. If this turns out to be the case and it's very reasonable to assume that at some point in the next couple of years a tribunal will be set up to investigate allthis, then that is perhaps the greatest crime in the brief history of our state and will surely merit an extensive criminal investigation and presumably jail time.

What is also certain is that the mind of every FF TD right now, or the ones planning to run for re-election at least, is how to possibly win that race with FF likely to poll well under 20% nationally. In that environment, the appetite for someone to plunge the knife into Cowen and to pretend that they're doing it out of national interest must be high. Nobody in their right mind would want to lead FF right now, but I'd imagine that with the exception of Moloney and Fleming, nobody wants Cowen as the figurehead either.

If Cowen is ousted and is staring down the barrel of a career as a backbench TD for less money than he'd get if he retired, then surely he'd step away? He'd have no credibility anyway.

All of this has the potential to hugely shake up the race for the five seats in Laois/Offaly if that's the case. There's a lot of votes to be had between Clara and Shannonbridge and there will still be some FF vote to be picked up in South Offaly, maybe between 600-1000 first preferences. The only candidate who'd have a chance would be Sinéad Dooley as she'd be considered "local" to Ferbane, Tullamore and Clareen and she might outpoll John Foley and thus get the one Offaly FF seat that there will be when transfers get taken into account. I've no idea if she has any interest in running, but they certainly have no-one else who'd even poll half a quota.

I've said it before as well - it will also bring John Leahy right into the race. He wasn't helped by FG's decision to run Marcella (surely to jaysus they'll add in a South Laois candidate!!) but if all of West Offaly opens up, he'll do well and could get into the race.

[turk]

Lone Shark called this one correctly a couple of weeks ago! As expected in the recent days, Mr. Cowen will not be running in the forthcoming election. His brother Barry is expected to be on the FF ticket.

[bracknaghboy]

Already three of our sitting TD's are second generation. This carry on where people consider a Dáil seat to be like a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation is a quare load of muck altogether. Anything we could do to cut down on that would be a good thing.

Here we go again! Watch Barry Cowen top the polls in Laois/Offaly as idiot after idiot give him their number 1 vote!
May I be the first here to wish Brian Cowen all the very worst in his retirement.

[Bord na Mona man]

Here we go again! Watch Barry Cowen top the polls in Laois/Offaly as idiot after idiot give him their number 1 vote!

I'd be very surprised if he did top the poll.

On another topic, does anyone think that Laois-Offaly would have been a good place for a Democracy Now candidate to run?
There are 5 seats up for grabs and quality of the existing candidates looks very low so far.

[corner back]

Couldn't agree more. A high profile candidate would walk in here. Shame they didn't go ahead with it just to shake up the political system. I don't like some of their proposed candidates but they would definitely have shaken things up.

I haven't a notion who to vote for. Fianna Fail need a kick in the hole but the prospect of an Enda Kenny led government being run behind the scenes by the likes of Frank Flannery and Phil cute hoor Hogan isn't too enticing. The prospect of Gerry Adams as leader of the opposition is just plain scary.

Labour could regret their decision to run only one candidate. They could easily have pushed hard for 2 seats I think.

Any news on whether Moloney is running. The papers yesterday seemed to be suggesting Micheál Martin wanted to run with just 1 FF candidate in each county, i.e. Fleming and Barry Cowen.

Prediction:
Flanagan
Fleming
Cowen
Whelan
FG guy from north Offaly who's name escapes me to barely hold off Sinn Fein

[High School Musical]

John Foley (if he's running) will pull in a good share of the votes from North Offaly anyway. Dont how popular he would be in other parts of the constituency though

[corner back]

Just read in paper that Moloney is running. FF putting forward 3 candidates.

surely they won't get 3 in. hard to see them not getting two.

Foley running as an independent. Can't see him getting in.

[Lone Shark]

Foley running as an independent. Can't see him getting in.

If he couldn't get in as a FF candidate last time out with no plausible rival for the North Offaly vote, then he has no chance now going up against Eddie Fitzpatrick and Liam Quinn, you'd have to presume.

[corner back]

Who's Eddie Fitzpatrick?

[Lone Shark]

Independent councillor from Portarlington. I think he's part of the FF "gene pool" but I'm not sure.

[The Biff]

Foley running as an independent. Can't see him getting in.

If he couldn't get in as a FF candidate last time out with no plausible rival for the North Offaly vote, then he has no chance now going up against Eddie Fitzpatrick and Liam Quinn, you'd have to presume.

I feel almost like an imposter joining this thread at this stage, but I've been home in Daingean recently and the feelings on the "East Offaly" ground are interesting.

Foley has been the best man at getting his picture in the papers over the past few years. Quite literally, he seems to have gone to everything envelop opening, he's sponsored a few sports teams for jersey presentations, all the usual groundwork. That's why he was so annoyed at getting kicked off the FF ticket that has basically been his as a given since the last Election. I can see him trying to use his recent resignation to try to save face now and to try to show he has some decency in him. He could do better than many expect. Personally speaking, I could not in conscience support anyone with FF roots, not after the current debacle.

FG's Liam Quinn could be the cool clean hero but I know that there is a lot of resentment that he was one of the Councillors who voted to close down the Daingean Fire Station (along with Kilcormac and Banagher). That campaign had got a lot of local attention and support, and those people well know who the Councillors were that voted for the closure. That is still fresh in many memories so I would expect it to take from his potential vote in those areas anyway.

I know nothing about Eddie Fitzpatrick, other than he has been quick to get the large posters and billboards erected around Portarlington. I have a hunch that Laois-Offaly could elect one Independent this time around, so he's obviously in with a shout for that. He may need to target John Foley in this regard, so that would get very interesting.