‘We listened, we weren’t impressed’ – How 13 presidential hopefuls failed to make their mark at Wexford County Council

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Having listened to the pitches of 13 potential candidates, the councillors of Co Wexford have chosen not to nominate anyone for next month’s presidential election. Those candidates were invited to County Hall on Friday afternoon to stake their claim and convince Wexford’s 34 councillors that they deserved a place on the ballot paper on October 24.

With Carlow, Waterford and South Dublin all holding meetings on the same day many of the candidates chose to attend the Wexford meeting remotely, leading to a myriad of technical issues.

The first candidate to speak, Gearóid Duffy, appeared to have logged into the meeting twice, which explained the echo in the chamber as he worked his way through a speech which has yet to move any of the councils across the county. He was followed by the ubiquitous Charlie Keddy, a man with more elections behind him than all but the most senior politicians in the Dáil.

Séana Kerr and Lorna McCormack also dialled in remotely, before Diamuid Mulcahy played to the home crowd with a few lines from Boolavogue and a reference to his “good friend” Diarmuid ‘Gizzy’ Lyng.

Although none of the speeches had stirred the soul this was, as the candidates frequently reminded us, “democracy in action”, and an opportunity for people who realistically had no chance of getting on the ballot paper to exercise their right as citizens of Ireland.

Those rights did not extend beyond five minutes however, and when Sarah-Louise Mulligan went over her allotted time and ignored the bell signalling her time was up, she was met with short shrift by cathaoirleach Joe Sullivan. Having already irked some of the chamber’s female members with her rhetoric, Ms Mulligan demanded that the councillors ask her follow-up questions and was abruptly interrupted as she was placed on mute and thus silenced for eternity – or at least until the next council meeting.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - September 23rd

Paudie Dineen rectified the mood with a little poem delivered as Gaeilge (agus Béarla), Caoimhín Ó Maolchalann finally spoke after his initial attempts amounted to not much more than a loud buzzing from the screen, and then, in what was arguably the highlight of the meeting, came Walter Ryan Purcell.

Clearly a busy man, Mr Purcell first appeared on our screens as a passenger on what appeared to be the Dart. Given the stage, he launched into an impassioned speech about why he should be the next president of Ireland. Except he didn’t. Because he was on mute.

We’ve all been there, we’ve all had those meetings, but usually when you inform the muted that they are mute they unmute themselves. Not Walter. He continued to speak, alighting from the Dart and making his way through town, not missing a beat as Councillor Sullivan repeatedly informed him “you’re on mute”.

Eventually, tiring of the charade, Cllr Sullivan announced he was moving on to the next candidate. That was Dr Cora Stack who also played to the audience by declaring former Wexford politician Brendan Howlin as one of the best TDs in the history of the state.

Then came the first of the big guns, one of the two candidates who had a genuine chance of getting the council’s vote.

At the time of writing Maria Steen has secured 13 Oireachteas nominations (TDs or senators), leaving her seven short of the 20 required. Despite this, despite a speech which touched on her roles in recent referenda, marriage, the sanctity of life, and her religious beliefs, she, along with Gareth Sheridan, would leave Wexford empty-handed.

After Gerben Uunk left the chamber similarly unmoved, Cllr Sullivan, perhaps ill-advisedly, returned to Walter. Now sitting in a comfy-looking armchair, Mr Purcell remained on mute, leading to groans from the councillors, before, in a moment of divine inspiration, he located the requisite button and launched into a speech not half as memorable as what had come before.

This just left Gareth. But he had been delayed in Carlow.

Having extended such courtesy to Walter, it stood to reason that Wexford would do everything it could to hear Mr Sheridan out. And so, after a five-minute toilet break, the meeting reconvened to hear what the 36-year-old businessman had to say.

Logging in from his car, Mr Sheridan suffered none of the audio issues of his predecessors, and spoke of his achievements within the pharmaceutical industry and how, upon moving back to Ireland, he was shocked at the number of people his age still living in their childhood bedrooms and contemplating emigration.

Noting that his generation are the first to be less well-off than their parents, he ended his speech by declaring he is pro-EU, pro-neutrality, pro the two-state solution, pro-choice, and pro a united Ireland.

Unfortunately, Fianna Fáil appears to be anti-Gareth Sheridan. Following the decisions of Carlow and Wexford County Councils not to nominate him for the presidency, Mr Sheridan has placed the blame firmly on the shoulders of those he accused of operating in the shadows.

"I firmly believe the Fianna Fáil leadership has encouraged its councillors to block my path, in exactly the same way as Fine Gael did,” he said on Saturday. “The only difference is that Fine Gael did so openly, whereas Fianna Fáil has been more covert.”

There was nowhere to hide when it came to the vote in Wexford however, with all councillors present asked to publicly state whether they wished to nominate any of the 13 candidates who had spoken. With 14 councillors voting for a nomination and 18 voting against, Wexford ultimately decided not to forward a name for next month’s election.

However, not all the county’s Fianna Fáil councillors voted against the prospect of Mr Sheridan, Ms Steen, or someone else receiving a nomination.

The following councillors voted for WCC to nominate a candidate: Pat Barden (Wexford Independent Alliance), Nicky Boland (WIA), Jim Codd (Aontú), Craig Doyle (SF), John Dwyer (IND), Mary Farrell (IND), Tom Forde (SF), Paddy Kavanagh (WIA), Leonard Kelly (IND), Marty Murphy (WIA), Aoife Rose O’Brien (SF), Ray Shannon (WIA), Michael Sheehan (IND), and Joe Sullivan (FF).

The following voted against: Vicky Barron (LAB), Pip Breen (FF), Aidan Browne (FF), Trish Byrne (FG), Ger Carthy (IND), Anthony Donohue (FG), John Fleming (FF), Pat Kehoe (FG), Donal Kenny (FF), Garry Laffan (FF), Darragh McDonald (FG), Lisa McDonald (FF), Barbara Anne Murphy (FF), Bridín Murphy (FG), John O’Rourke (IND), Frank Staples (FG), Biddy Walsh (LAB), and Oliver Walsh (FG).

Cllrs Robbie Staples (FG) and Jackser Owens were not in attendance.

Predictably this outcome was met with some disquiet.

"This vote should have been taken at our last meeting,” said Cllr Pat Barden, “we’ve basically wasted 13 people’s day. I’ve very disappointed with how this was done.”

Ever the advocate for democracy, Cllr Michael Sheehan said those in the chamber had “turned their back on” the one power they have as councillors by not nominating a candidate. Cllr Jim Codd, who had hoped to secure a nomination for the Aontú-backed Maria Steen, bemoaned the process louder than most.

As the meeting began to disband, he pointed to the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors who had risen from their seats and were making for the exits.

"Nearly all of the councillors from the government parties have left,” he railed, “they have wasted the candidates’ time, they haven’t even got adequate regard to remain here until the end.”

However, Cllr Lisa McDonald was having none of it.

"A democratic decision has been made here,” she said. “We listened to the people, we weren’t impressed, and the council said no.”