It's time for Fianna Fáil in Mayo county town to finally wake up

Dr. Richard Martin

I met a little birdie lately. And the little birdie surprised me. And whispered a little name in my ear. Paul McNamara.

The Fianna Fáil councillor from Achill has political aspirations beyond the council chamber.

I was surprised when the little birdie told me but not shocked.

He is the poll topper in the district and he cleans out the Achill ballot box at every council election.

It is speculated that he didn’t raise his hand before as he has extensive business interests.

He is the owner of Shareridge Civil Engineering Ltd., which employs over 200 people.

The company headquarters is in the Castlebar Retail Park.

So, if he does decide to throw his name into the ring and seek the FF nomination for the next general election, where does that leave us?

As it stands right now there is only one FF seat in the county. FF are at 16% in the polls.

Dara Calleary is a senior cabinet minister and he’s based in Ballina. Paul McNamara supported Calleary at the last general election, which is unusual as Achill is in the old west Mayo region.

If, and this is if, he was on the ticket how would he fare?

Personally, I think he’d be extremely strong. He’d clean out Achill for starters. They haven’t had a TD/Minister since Denis Gallagher in the ‘70s. In a head to head with Keira Keogh he’d come out on top.

He’d poll stronger in the Erris region and would take everything all the way up to Newport. His business connections would mean he would pull votes in Castlebar and all over the county. The bottom line is he has a proven track record of success in politics and in business and people like to back a winner.

When someone is in the voting booth, and faced with the list of names, they want to pick the winner. When it’s all over they can say I picked a winner. No-one wants to back a loser.

Would Calleary like to see him in the mix? I doubt it. It would hurt him in Erris. Mark Duffy (FG) and Calleary both need Erris.

Ballina is situated right next to the Sligo border. Ballina candidates have to push across to Erris and south to Ballyhaunis looking for votes. Having someone like Paul McNamara in Achill wouldn’t be great news.

I don’t think Rose Conway-Walsh would be too enamoured with the idea either. SF candidate Rosaleen Lally was blown out of it in the last locals by McNamara. But Rose would hold. So would Calleary. I couldn’t call it between him and Duffy.

There is one issue or perhaps more than one. Geography.

Achill is a long way away from Ballinrobe, Shrule and Claremorris. Maybe too far. The second FF seat is in Castlebar. It’s a two-seat town. It always was. If Paul McNamara decides to follow through and contest a nomination it would make life very interesting.

The only viable option for Castlebar FF right now is Caoilinn Gaughan. There’s no one else. But she hasn’t been tested at the ballot box.

There could be a day of reckoning before the next general election when there is a showdown at convention.

It’s happened before. In 1994, before the famous by-election which Michael Ring won, FF had an internal contest. Beverly Flynn, Al McDonnell and Frank Chambers. Beverley Flynn won. Frank Chambers placed second and Al McDonnell placed third, which many found puzzlingly enough.

McDonnell was seen as the clear favourite before the votes were cast. In any event he didn’t win and that was that. That was a crucial moment.

Going into that by-election Michael Ring had failed at two previous attempts to be elected to the Dáil. Paddy McGuinness ran as part of a campaign to develop the Castlebar RTC. In doing so, the Castlebar vote was split and Ring was the beneficiary.

FF made a huge error in not selecting Al McDonnell as their candidate for that by-election. It’s unlikely Paddy McGuinness would’ve ran in opposition and if he’d have won the seat, he’d have never lost the seat.

Michael Ring would never have been heard of. Instead he went on to become one of the greatest rural TDs in the history of the state. Small margins.

It wasn’t just a case of Michael Ring winning the seat, the balance of power changed in the county from then on. Ever since that by-election FG have been the more dominant of the civil war parties.

Four FF TDs were returned in the general election of 1992. That’s ancient history now.

FF were never in serious contention for two seats at the last general election. Not even close. Personally, I find it amazing that there is no-one putting their hand up and saying – I WANT THIS.

If that’s the case and the Castlebar FF grouping can’t get their act together, it leaves it wide open to others from elsewhere and Paul McNamara is formidable.

He ticks all the boxes. Poll topper. Mayo GAA – he played for Mayo at various levels. Successful businessman.

Tick, tick and tick.

I went to the FF convention before the general election in 2024. It needed a contest. By that point Lisa Chambers had lost two major elections. By rights there should’ve been a challenge. As there wasn’t a challenge, FF went into the big event soft and complacent.

Life is competitive and politics is competitive. If you want to be on the ticket you have to earn the right to be there. Greatness isn’t hiding yourself from the people, greatness is being accepted by the people.

Castlebar is the county town, but until we get our own house in order, people in other parts of the county will get their house in order.

The people of Erris have Rose, the people of south Mayo have Lawless, Ballina has Calleary, and so on. Right now. Being blunt. Being straight to the point. I have to call it. If there was a general election called in the morning, there would not be a second TD returned to the town.

It’s time for Castlebar FF to finally wake up.