Mayo's two new TDs have made good early impressions
Rose and Alan have hit the ground running despite challenges
A Political View by The Tallyman
IT is over nine months since Mayo's two new TDs – Rose Conway-Walsh and Alan Dillon – were elected to office in a general election that delivered its share of surprises.
This time last year both of them were not being tipped to win seats in the Mayo constituency with outgoing Fianna Fáil TD Lisa Chambers and outgoing Fine Gael Senator Michelle Mulherin considered to have the edge over them.
But that all changed after Christmas 2019 when candidates and observers started to notice a major shift in the public mood in favour of Sinn Féin, this pushing Erris-based Rose directly into the spotlight – although many still did not see her emergence transpiring with such momentum.
She spoke about how the level of engagement with her was unlike anything she had experienced in previous elections.
“The people felt let down,” she said. “They were angry. Issues like hospital trolleys and homelessness kept coming up on the doorstep. They did not have faith in the outgoing government to resolve those problems.”
The move away from the old guard of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil resulted in Conway-Walsh securing a first preference haul of 14,633 votes in what turned out to be the headline story of the 2020 general election in Mayo.
Now, older and wiser, the question needs to be asked in regard to whether or not she has taken advantage of the opportunity given to her by the electorate of Mayo.
And the answer, at this point, is very much in the affirmative. She has shown herself to be a very effective, articulate and caring TD whose strong social conscience in borne out by the issues she consistently raises in Dáil Éireann.
People are clearly coming to her about their problems – and there are no shortage of them out there – and she is working to address them.
So, for the purpose of this analysis, it can be stated she has improved her county's level of representation in the Oireachtas.
And, to be fair, the same can be said of Fine Gael's Alan Dillon whose election, unlike Rose Conway-Walsh, was far from straight-forward due to the fact he was 7,673 short of the quota after the first count.
But, in Gaelic football parlance, he has grabbed the ball firmly with both hands, adapting to the role of TD with energy, commitment, resilience and intelligence.
And, as a complete newcomer to public life, it has been a much more difficult transition for him – but he has got on with it because of his hunger and determination to do a bloody good job.
While Mayo has lost ministers in Michael Ring and Dara Calleary this year, the truth is that the county has been kept firmly on the map in the most challenging year in living memory.
This, in particular, has been revealed in securing a rescue package for Ireland West Airport Knock and the important investment made in Mayo University Hospital with the promise of good days ahead for Mayo GMIT campus.