Old rivalries within Fianna Fáil in Kerry North look like entering a new phase with the end of the dual mandate, writes Michael O'Regan, Parliamentary Reporter
The long-running rivalry between the McEllistrim and Foley political dynasties in Kerry North is the backdrop to plans by Fianna Fáil headquarters to pave the way for the fallout from the end of the dual mandate in the constituency.
Under the legislation giving effect to the measure, members of the Oireachtas will no longer be able to hold local authority seats. And, bar a successful court challenge to its constitutionality, the legislation is likely to become law later this month.
Fianna Fáil is anxious that sitting TDs and senators resign their county council seats by the autumn at the latest to provide replacements with a year in which to build a political base before the local elections in the summer of next year.
While the Kerry North TD, Mr Tom McEllistrim, has made no decision about standing down, he is unlikely to resist a request from headquarters to do so. If he does, his sister, Ms Anne McEllistrim, a Tralee schoolteacher, is to seek a nomination to replace him.
Meanwhile, the former FF TD for the constituency, Mr Denis Foley, also remains undecided about giving up his county council seat. If he does, his daughter, Ms Norma Foley, also a schoolteacher and a member of Tralee Urban Council, is expected to seek to replace him.
This could see Ms McEllistrim and Ms Foley becoming important power-brokers on Kerry County Council. Ms McEllistrim's aim would be to protect her brother's Dáil base, while Ms Foley would see herself as a future TD, regaining the seat once held by her father.
One Fianna Fáil source in Kerry North told The Irish Times: "Make no mistake about it, the McEllistrim-Foley battle for the Dáil seat is far from over."
Mr McEllistrim is the third generation of the family to represent Kerry North in the Dáil. His late father, also Tom McEllistrim, a strong supporter of Charles Haughey, battled it out with Mr Foley for supremacy in the constituency in the 1980s. The grandfather of the current TD, also Tom McEllistrim, proposed Jack Lynch for party leader when Sean Lemass retired in 1966.
The current FF TD was an unsuccessful Dáil candidate in the 1997 general election. Mr Foley, who resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in 2000, when it was revealed he held an Ansbacher account, retired at the last general election. His daughter failed to secure a nomination, and Mr McEllistrim won the seat after a highly personalised campaign.
The McEllistrims and Foleys share the same Tralee electoral base; meaning, realistically, that there is only one Dáil seat for the party in the area.
The other seats in Kerry North are held by Mr Martin Ferris (SF) and Mr Jimmy Deenihan (FG). Mr Dick Spring, a former Labour leader and tanaiste, was a surprise loser in the last election and is not expected to stand again. However, his sister, Ms Maeve Spring, a member of Kerry County Council and Tralee Urban Council, would be a formidable candidate.
In the 1999 local elections Ms Spring headed the poll in the Tralee electoral area with 3,174 first preferences. A similar performance next year could pave the way for a Dáil challenge. With internal rivalries in Fianna Fáil set to continue, and Ms Spring in the reckoning to regain the family seat, Kerry North will remain a political cauldron between now and the next general election.