Mayo politics sees new names coming forward in the hope of initiating change

by Caoimhín Rowland

We are now under a year away from local and European elections here in the county.

From the local aspect, we are beginning to see ruminations from respective political parties and soundbites from prospective candidates.

Harry Barrett, the Castlebar-based teacher, has thrown his hat into the ring as the ‘hospital candidate’.

The former Labour Party councillor is latching on to a concerning situation in Mayo University Hospital and with that an almost banker in terms of collecting a cohort of votes.

Who in opposition to him would dare go against such an earnest cause?

A homoeopathic candidate perhaps!

Sinn Féin has announced two new candidates for West Mayo.

Rosaleen Lally will be vying for one of three seats in Belmullet.

She is, by all accounts, a respected community organiser and her involvement with the Irish Wheelchair Association has seen her address the Oireachtas in the past.

Karen Gallagher, a committed member of Westport GAA and camogie clubs, will contest one of four seats in the Westport electoral area.

That western behemoth of a district, lumping Westport in with Belmullet, makes life difficult to achieve adequate representation, as the Barony of Erris becomes an unfortunate afterthought at many of the meetings.

All the while possessing some of the biggest challenges of underdevelopment in the county, the same cannot be said for its electoral neighbour, Westport.

Saoirse McHugh is a figure who truly struck a chord with countless voters not too long ago.

She ran a promising campaign to be an MEP in 2019 and came closer than expected to getting elected during the 2020 general election.

A run from her in either local or European is highly unlikely, but that does leave the left-wing, Green vote reeling in this county.

Where will those votes fly off to and who I wonder was inspired by her candidacy and the fiery rhetoric of change to contest on their own two feet come next May?

This is a time of great hope for potential politicians and intrigue for commentators. Hats are being thrown into the ring and names bandied about as the time for co-opting expires.

Amongst all of the great expectations of organising and running is the bare-faced reality.

Politicians need to shore up their base, whether that be their family, GAA club or wider parish as a whole.

Putting your name out there early gives you an advantage over the Johnny come latelys, particularly if your message is more nuanced than the norm.

One thing must be noted: Across the entire country, there has been an unfortunate trend.

First-time councillors bow out from the arena at a colossal rate, while we’ve all seen headlines of government TDs and backbenchers announcing they will not be running come the next general election (curiously most in Munster).

There has also been a pattern of first-time councillors bowing out. Seemingly they enter the arena doughy-eyed and full of hope, but are met by tradition, brick walls and relentless personal attacks in an age of increased polarisation, primarily stemming from vitriolic online hate where it's easier than ever to anonymously send death threats to a local councillor.

Understandably, that makes local politics a lonely and isolating affair. A minimal stipend to supplement your primary job does little to alleviate such stress.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial we open up to debate on our doorsteps, encourage voting registrations across the county and speak honestly about the very few powers our elected local councillors ultimately have.

A message of change can be inspiring.

But when the only true power possessed in the annals of Aras an Chontae is writing letters to ministers to visit the county and explain the decisions they make or vetoing the sale of land, you'd be forgiven for thinking it all seems a bit futile, nothing more than an adult Foróige meeting.

The lack of powers our councils have is a legacy of the recession.

The EU has consistently stated the need for Irish governments to return more powers to local areas, a campaign spelling out how impotent we’ve been left and demanding the return of town councils would be one to garner great support.

But the way things are going, don't be surprised in the future if county councils are scrapped and replaced by regional authorities.