Victories in four corners
Big steps forward in counties Cork, Wexford, Louth and Sligo
John Dwyer was out canvassing in New Ross. A lady came to the door, and
slammed it fast behind her. She'd left her wee dog in behind the door, who
was barking to wake the angels. `Why's he barking so?' `He's after rats.
He killed two last night'. The lady herself has a baseball bat beside her
to defend herself and the kids, in case the dog couldn't handle the
situation.
She had been waiting on the housing list for four years. Other families,
friends of friends, moved straight into housing when they moved to the town
and joined the list.
``There is no justice in it. It is outrageous. The town suffers from total
neglect which the power block of councillors from establishment parties has
maintained down the years,'' says John.
d this is the story told by every Sinn Féiner who campaigned for election
to the councils, whether they got elected or not - it is the story of what
their campaign means in their communities, a fight for justice.
It's a story of neglect of villages and towns all over the country, of poor
housing, no facilities or community centres for young people or old, of
unemployment, of dilapidated, unsafe housing, of big money being unjustly
distributed, of towns and villages dying, of queues for hospital beds, of
withdrawal of medical services. Its a story of neglect and injustice.
d its been a political story of apathy, of hopelessness, of clientelism
and corruption, of political parties scrabbling for votes, against each
other, and between party running mates, of political want-to-bes, keeping
seats in the family, blowing into areas for votes and blowing out again,
passing the parcel between them on councils, taking election as an accolade
not an obligation.
No better proof than the amazing votes of some Sinn Féin candidates who
were re-elected after years of single-handedly fighting against neglect on
UDCs and Town Commissions. The outstanding endorsements of councillors
like Cionnaith O'Suilleabhain in Clonakilty, of Anne O'Leary in Bantry, and
Martin Hallinan in Youghal, of Joe Reilly in the Navan UDC election, all of
whom topped the poll with votes two or even three times the quota, is
evidence enough of what this Sinn Féin election breakthrough means.
Arthur Gibbons in Sligo, elected to the Corporation, whose family have
lived in the town for generations, tells of how the electorate threw out
the entire panel and elected brand new representatives. `` Through Cartron
and Rathbroghan, over 1,000 houses, there is not one community or sports
centre. Not one, nothing for young people. And then they talk of drugs.''
Arthur is angry at the neglect.
``Politics is something you do all your life. It's a political act to get up
in the morning'', and it has been like that for Don O'Leary, who made the
big breakthrough, elected to Cork City Corporation after years of work and
political exclusion, even to the point where the government sent Don to
Jail for having republican posters under his bed.
``We live here, and we'll be here in three weeks time. The other candidates,
they won't be back `til next election,''says Don, chairperson of the
combined residents association. ``We've campaigned just for the basic things
which affect life on these estates, like lighting, road signs, bins, all
reflections of the neglect of our areas, of Knocknaheany, Farranree,
Fairhill. Long-term projects are a community centre. We've nothing here-
the result of the local authority's outright neglect.''
``I don't want to let people down,'' he says. It is a fear shared by all
those who got elected, of those who made such significant and such hardly
fought breakthroughs like Brian Stanley in the home town of so many
republicans who never got to vote for him, or Jody Coughlan in Tullamore,
who got elected to the UDC, Jimmy Gavin elected to the UDC in Ardee, Co
Louth, Micky Shiels in Gorey and Martin Shehan in Enniscorthy, of Kevin
MacCarthaigh in Cobh, who fought singlehandedly over five years to get the
council meetings opened to the public.
Lone voices they may be on their respective councils. Tony Curtin, elected
to Listowel UDC, tells with delight of how the Fianna Fáil and the Fine
Gael were already at him, even before the count showed him elected to hold
the balance of power between them. Anxious to capture him, to pocket his
acquiescence, to get him to join the cosy cartel, which keeps everybody
happy, except the people.
Arthur Morgan was elected to Louth County Council, another lone voice,when,
sadly, Seán Kenna could not quite get the votes he needed for a county
council seat. ``It marks a breakthrough in the county, which has always been
so strong a republican county, but which at last is beginning to manifest
itself also in electoral terms,'' says Arthur.
Arthur talks with delight at young Kevin Meehan's victory. Kevin, a first
time candidate a youth worker, and PRO of the combined tenants'
association, topped the poll in his ward for the Dundalk UDC. ``So many
young people'' says Arthur, ``with ability coming through now. It's not just
the young vote, it's young people themselves who want to change things.''
Restorative justice is Kevin's word for it.
Many will be sad too that county councillors like Jim Ferry in Buncrana and
Paddy Wright in Athy couldn't gather quite enough votes. Such councillors
are as rare, in Paddy's inimitable words, as `elephants on the banks of the
Shannon.''
d for the first time ever, a Sinn Féin seat on Meath County Council for
Joe Reilly. ``It was the Bobby Sands Centre, our election team, a lot of
very hard work.'' Joe just says it was because he is good looking, very
rich, and a nice fellow to meet. But he is full of plans. There is
transport, road safety, `I've ideas on that'. Rebuilding communities and
villages which are dying as wealth pours to the urban centres. There is
housing, public housing to meet the need. ``I've ideas on this, ideas on
that.'' Joe does not stop.
Nor do those who didn't quite make it. Marie Gavaghan and John Doyle in
Wicklow, Maurice Roche who didn't quite complete the great results in
Wexford with a seat on the County Council, Gerry O'Neill in Blessington,
who topped several boxes in the contituency, always a voice in Wicklow on
radio against the wiles of the elected councillors, sadly missed election,
and Paddy Hackett in Nenagh, who every republican would have loved to see
elected.
So many areas where republicans face a deliberate and insidious campaign to
keep a Sinn Féin voice for change in the wilderness of exclusion, for the
preservation of the established parties' cosy and lucrative cartel over
local power, maintained through apathy, clientelism, at the expense of the
continuing neglect of communities. Last week's results rattled their cage.
It is against this background that Sinn Féin's victories must be seen. It's
a beginning for restorative justice.
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