Relief in Castlebar Fianna Fáil circles over Flynn's resignation from party

FIANNA FÁIL supporters in Pádraig Flynn’s home town of Castlebar, Co Mayo, have expressed relief over the former EU commissioner’s resignation from the party, following publication of the Mahon tribunal report.

The former commissioner and minister, who lives with his wife Dorothy in Carrowbrinogue Lodge, several miles out of the town off the Newport road, declined a request to be interviewed yesterday.

The tribunal found that Mr Flynn had “wrongly and corruptly” sought and received a payment of £50,000 from developer Tom Gilmartin in 1989.

In his resignation letter, Mr Flynn reiterated his rejection of the adverse findings against him.

The resignation came as no great surprise to constituency supporters, some of whom are in the revived youth wing, Ógra Fianna Fáil. It accepted the Mahon report findings at a meeting in Ballina last weekend and had agreed that he should be expelled.

However, strong support was also expressed by Ógra members for the “good work” for which the former minister is still remembered.

It was acknowledged that a vote to support his expulsion this Friday could have proved “difficult” at a personal level.

“Let’s say that he saved us from that,” a spokesman told The Irish Times yesterday.

Fianna Fáil Castlebar comhairle ceantair chairman John Hamrock stressed that it was “looking to the future”. He proposed holding the party’s ardfheis in the Mayo capital – birthplace of Mr Flynn, and of former taoiseach Charles Haughey and now fiefdom of Taoiseach Enda Kenny – within the next two years.

Mr Hamrock is also a member of the Castlebar cumann, of which Mr Flynn has been an active member. It replaced the Micheál Ó Mórain cumann which party headquarters was eager to disband at the height of the controversy over the expulsion of Mr Flynn’s daughter, Beverley, in 2004.

“Pádraig would never miss a cumann meeting unless he was sick, and we do have to acknowledge what he did for Castlebar,” Mr Hamrock said.