Wedding Bells!!

Dermot O’Donnell, O’Maolchonaire Avenue, and Annette Mulhern, Drumgowan, who were recently married in St Patricks Church, Donegal Town, with reception in The Abbey Hotel. Their Vintage car transport was provided by Peter McLean Wedding Cars. Photo: Jason McGarrigle

Behind Closed Doors by Cross Bencher

Local Elections
The time is nigh – who will represent us at Lifford for the next five years?
As ever Bundoran will return Sean McEniff, master of all he surveys. This may well be his last electoral outing. He would like to top the poll, and receive the public’s vindication of his political life.
In 1999, young barrister Declan McHugh came from out of the blue and topped the poll. There will be no surprises this time - unless Paul Coughlan or Thomas Pringle can get a surge going.
In 1979, Paul Coughlan’s father, Clement, got over 2,600 votes from a smaller electorate. Maybe McEniff will come close to this figure, given his dominance in the Bundoran/Ballyshannon area, and the increased population there - also there is no ‘upstart’ like McHugh to bother him.
Sinn Fein’s ratings in the opinion polls must boost the chances of Thomas Pringle to top the poll. Nobody doubts his re-election, yet there is something missing in the Sinn Fein campaign here in south Donegal. There is none of that serious determination in their canvass, revved up by numbers of young ‘enthusiasts’.
In Pringle they have the ideal candidate, with his own track record – elected under his own steam in 1999; an excellent county councillor for the last five years; still young, bright and committed. What are Adams and McGuinness bringing to the party? We may see increased activity in the last few days - especially polling day! There could be another scenario – Pearse Doherty is already the chosen one and headquarters may not want Pringle to outshine him in the local elections. Doherty may even be cabinet material for a future coalition – hold on - we’re losing the run of ourselves, it’s the local elections stupid.
Fine Gael must win back a seat if they are to retain any credibility in this area. They have had trouble putting a team together. Last time they had five candidates and John Boyle was the only one to receive a viable vote and got elected. Now with only three candidates, they hope to win two seats – at one stage they might have aimed for three seats - but they now have a tight battle to get two.
If Fine Gael can regain a seat then it seems as if Joyce McMullin’s name is on it. He would be following in the footsteps of Mick Melly of Ballyshannon, who was also a renowned Gaelic footballer.
Fianna Fail fielded five candidates last time and almost won five seats – fifty votes lost ‘in-thro’ cost them that fifth seat. This time they have six candidates and will do very well to win four seats, considering the fall-off in national opinion polls.
Donegal often confounds opinion polls but there will come a day.
Ernan McGettigan will prove best of the other candidates and, at a time of public apathy and disillusionment, he may well be the surprise of this election.
Pringle sprung a similar surprise in Killybegs five years ago, but Killybegs hadn’t had a councillor for the previous fifteen years. Donegal Town has not been so deprived.
Were one to pay attention to the ‘Times’, then very little was happening in Donegal Town either and it pinned its hopes on Manus Brennan and the new community chamber. Manus choose the Labour party ticket which was hardly a plus in this area, while Ernan is standing as an Independent.
Of course at elections, the Times is genuinely neutral and its main interest is promoting what is best for the town and area.
Peter Kennedy, the sitting councillor, has to run on his record of the past five years and the election is giving him the opportunity to defend that record. His achievements are impressive; admittedly his party has been in Government during this ‘Celtic Tiger’ period. But they will remain in control for the next three years. The heartening thing in Peter’s campaign is the absence of platitudes and wishful thinking. He deals in the reality of experience and official and political influence.
There is an old commentary on the differing methods of chairing meetings used by the late Neil Blaney and Sean McEniff. “With Blaney it is all discussion and no decisions, with McEniff it is all decisions and no discussion”.
While not quite paraphrasing it could be said that - Peter deals in reality; Ernan dreams, and asks why not? Joyce dreams of the glory days of old and wonders if they can be recaptured in this new ball game.
Summing Up
There are three certainties - which leaves three seats to be filled from six other candidates with 20 or 30 votes here or there making a difference. Watch out for surprises in the first preference votes, which may have a rippling effect on the destination of the last three seats.
The Times front page prediction is itself so predictable and doesn’t seem to allow for the surprises that are sure to happen on Saturday morning. There is no big razz-ma-tazz, but there could be a quiet stirring out there which will only become obvious after the event.
Florence Doherty is a tough battler and there are quite a few Greens around to which the current level of development is anathema, but the surprise will not come from that quarter this time. The Greens seem to get elected from big urban areas – strange!
European Election
Donegal, should, of course, vote for Jim Mc Daid. Marian Harkin seems a certainty but she was pipped by Dana last time. Could she be pipped by Pearse Doherty this time!!
The Dublin candidacy of Royston Brady, Bertie’s protégé, is turning many people off Fianna Fail. If he gets elected at the expense of Eoin Ryan, whose grandfather Dr. Jim Ryan tended the wounded in the GPO in 1916, it will signal another move away from the old Fianna Fail of DeValera and Lemass.
Bertie, who may well be the next president of Europe, should have more respect for the institutions of that Europe - respect for what Fianna Fail once stood for seems to be already gone.

Lough Eske Student on 'the Den'

RTE cameraman, Brian Finn, James McDaid and RTE reporter, Brian McVeigh. Photo Margaret Gallagher

James Mc Daid, a first year student at the AVS, spent a very exciting day in the company of RTE last Wednesday. James won a competition on its popular programme “The Den” to be a reporter for a day with RTE. The programme will be on your screens this week.

According to County Manager, Michael McLoone, the Tullyearl Roundabout is expected to be completed within the year 2004. “Funding was approved by the NRA this year and planning was applied for in February” he said.
The Manager stated that the scheme had gone out to tender and the appointment of a contractor is due this month. The project should be completed within the year, at a cost of €1.5 million.

Available in print edition of Donegal Times:

• Secretary’s Statement on Progress of Keeney Construction Proposal
A record of Mart negotiations and update on latest developments

• Memories of Peter T. Potter

• Youth Drop-in centre for Killybegs - thanks to AIB

+ lots more