The new faces of local democracy: Meath butcher turned Fianna Fáil councillor reflects on first year in politics
At the age of 54, Enfield butcher Padraig Coffey went for his first ever job interview — and it led him on a path to the council chamber.
Just over a year later, the lifelong Fianna Fáil supporter is marking his first anniversary as an elected councillor for the Trim Electoral Area.
“When I made the decision, I gave my name and went to the Fianna Fáil headquarters in Dublin for an interview,” he said.
“I got on pretty well in the interview. I was in no way nervous. I couldn’t believe it because I work in the meat trade as a butcher, so this was my first ever proper interview at 54 years of age.”
Politics had always been in the background for Cllr Coffey, who grew up in a family of nine.
“At a very young age, I have always had an interest in politics and things that affect people locally. I suppose that stems from the background I was raised in,” he said.
“My mum, who was also a Fianna Fáil supporter, had an interest in politics and it just grew from there.”
He said that running for election wasn’t an immediate yes - “I had said no about five times about running. But I finally said yes on St Brigid's Day because my mum was a Kildare woman. I know that she would have liked one of us to run for local elections at some stage.”
In last year’s local elections, Fianna Fáil secured a second seat in the Trim Electoral Area for the first time in 15 years. Cllr Coffey was elected on the final count.
“Overwhelmed with emotions” was how he described the moment.
He added: “It is that perimeter of life that you realise that you are going to help people with genuine problems on a day-to-day basis.”
According to Cllr Coffey, he has learnt that much of a councillor’s work involves guiding people to the right place for help.
“When you are in public life, you must remember that you’re there to help. Sometimes you are only pointing people in the right direction. They are telling you stuff they won’t tell anyone else and you have to be very correct in what you do with that information.”
The role also brought some surprises. “Before my time as a councillor, and I only realised this now, a lot of power was taken away from local councillors. Now people come to you with an issue and you have to explain to them that you have to go somewhere else with that issue.”
While Cllr Coffey praised certain areas of Meath County Council, he said the system needs to work faster.
“The biggest challenge is the council system. It is so hard to get things done because it goes at a slow pace. We live in a faster time — there is no reason why things can’t move faster. Meath County Council has a massive staff,” he said.
“One of the most successful parts of Meath County Council is housing, but other sectors need to come up to the speed where housing is.”
Since being elected, traffic and speeding have been among the main concerns raised by locals — and Cllr Coffey sees them as key priorities.
“From the day I started canvassing, and still a huge problem now, is traffic and road management, as well as speeding. People are so preoccupied,” the councillor, who has been a butcher for 38 years, said.
“I have a small butcher shop in Enfield and when I look out the window, I see people in traffic looking down at their telephones. They don’t look where they should be looking.”
“Speeding in villages and towns near schools is also a huge issue. People are starting to modify cars and it is all about speed and drifting. I don’t think most of them realise that they are entering a village or near a school.”
One issue he said is close to his heart is improving safety at his former national school, Baconstown School.
“The school is unique in the sense that it has an after-school or a playgroup on the opposite side of the road, yet it does not have pedestrian lights. It needs one badly — it’s not safe.”
Now looking back on the path from his butcher’s shop to the council chamber, Cllr Coffey said his own story shows that there’s no wrong time to step into public life.
“I was 54 when I got into politics, so I know you’re never too young or too old. It’s all about helping people,” he said.
“I would have been kicking myself in a few years if I didn’t run. I said to myself maybe I’ll be part of some good decision some day — and that was the way I saw it.”