Clare profile: Upheaval due to seat and area changes

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The 2009 local elections in Clare were brutal for Fianna Fáil. Having dominated the county council, the party returned only 11 of the 32 seats on 35 per cent of the vote, while Fine Gael's share jumped to 34 per cent, winning 12 seats.

Over the past five years, the two parties and Independents, who secured seven seats, shared the spoils of the office of mayor and deputy mayor.

A restoration of Fianna Fáil dominance appears unlikely. A party source, who has been knocking on doors over the past few weeks, said: “The visceral anger that was there in 2009, that is gone, but I don’t think the forgiveness is there yet.”

This year, the number of seats has been cut from 32 to 28 and the number of electoral areas is down from six to four, with a shift in representation towards the urban areas of Ennis and Shannon at the expense of north and west Clare.

Retiring councillors
The council will also be without two of its longest-serving councillors as Tommy Brennan (Ind) and Patricia McCarthy (Ind) are retiring. McCarthy is the only female representative on the current council and a number of strong female candidates are running this time.

Clare Crusaders Children’s Clinic co-founder Ann Norton (Ind), Cllr Mary Howard (FG) and barrister Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) are conducting strong campaigns in the eight- seat Ennis area, where 27 candidates are running.

Colleran Molloy has three running mates in Ennis – outgoing councillors Pat Daly, Tom McNamara and Brian Meaney – and it is unlikely that Fianna Fáil can return four.

Meaney is most vulnerable. A former Green party councillor and trenchant critic of Fianna Fáil, he caused shock when he joined the party last year after resigning from the Greens. To date, he has failed to convince Fianna Fáil grassroots that he is one of them.

A daughter of the late senator Michael Howard, Mary Howard has a strong social media presence, but converting Facebook friends into first preferences will be the challenge.

The biggest issue during the past two elections was the closure of the A&E at Ennis General Hospital, but the issue has been neutered to a great extent as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael can only lose votes by raising it.

Sinn Féin does not have enough of a power base in Clare to take advantage, while it will be a surprise if Independents can better their performance.

In the new combined north and west Clare electoral areas, the pace of the Government response to the damage caused by the winter storms dominates.

Storm damage
The council has estimated the bill to be €36.8 million, and a hefty chunk of that has already been promised. However, for Fine Gael to maintain its strong showing in north Clare, voters in Lahinch and Kilkee need to see the work progressing as the tourist season approaches.

In the eight-seater, Fianna Fáil is vulnerable to losing one of its five seats, due mainly to the area being reduced from nine seats.

In the six-seater Shannon area, Labour is at risk of its only Clare councillor, Pascal Fitzgerald, losing his seat as seven outgoing councillors contest the election.

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