Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis 2013 - April 27th, RDS

Srianadh

A friend forwarded me on an email today (he's no FF'er so dunno where he got it) with details of this shower's annual hoo-haw in the RDS. Last year's coverage was extensive to the point I almost barfed but with them now beginning to ride high in the polls once more (if you can call 29% riding high) and with the prospect of them winning the by-election next week I'm wondering, will the rest of us survive it if we turn on the TV/read a newspaper while it's on or during the week after?

The reason I was sent the info is a guy we went to college with is running for something or other at it. Nice guy but "fell in with a bad crowd" kinda scenario. It's a story we've all heard before. Is there hope for these people (as in the good ones in their ranks) to see the light?

Is there anything the likes of us ordinary folk can hope to see come of their love in? (And there's no point in ever suggesting they disband. They sniff power again in a few years and will brazen it out to get there).

Chucky the tree

It will be great to see Bertie Ahern on our tv screens again getting a very warm reception from everyone there. I wonder if he'll be there as a special guest speaker?

Srianadh

Chucky the tree wrote: »

It will be great to see Bertie Ahern on our tv screens again getting a very warm reception from everyone there. I wonder if he'll be there as a special guest speaker?

I thought they chucked him out after he got found out? No? Jesus if he's still in their ranks that says it all!

Chucky the tree

Srianadh wrote: »

I thought they chucked him out after he got found out? No? Jesus if he's still in their ranks that says it all!

He get thrown out. But they still let him attend. He turned up last year and got a very good welcoming form everyone there. That's why I wondered if he'd be a guest speaker.

Srianadh

Chucky the tree wrote: »

He get thrown out. But they still let him attend. He turned up last year and got a very good welcoming form everyone there. That's why I wondered if he'd be a guest speaker.

Aye I went and looked it up. They chucked him soon after their love in last year once Mahon had reported. There was a great quote from it though where Miriam Lord was beside "a front bench spokesperson" and when Bertie rocked up she asked him if he'd go over and shake his hand, welcome him to which the unnamed politician replied, "Will I f***!" and walked off. Ha! They knew he was dead man walking even before Mahon came to light!

Sierra Oscar

Chucky the tree wrote: »

He get thrown out. But they still let him attend. He turned up last year and got a very good welcoming form everyone there. That's why I wondered if he'd be a guest speaker.

You are being economical with the truth there. He was expelled after the Mahon report was published - which occurred a number of weeks after the Ard Fheis.

The FF position for years was that whatever action necessary would be taken after the tribunal published its report. That is what occurred, and rightly or wrongly Ahern could not be stopped from attending the Ard Fheis as an ordinary member so long as he was still a member.

He wont be there this year.

Mr.Micro

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

He wont be there this year.

Why not? I am sure FF will welcome back the great man now that the public appear to want a return to the old ways, days.

Srianadh

Clearing out the inbox and said email came up again. Just noticed this; they have the full list of would be's on it. Lets play a game of spot the dynasties! I even note how they've an ex-TD looking to become their VP. It's such a great contest that all TD's going forward are automatically elected. Bless, they can't even be allowed be challenged by their own.

Leas-Uachtaráin Fhianna Fáil (5 Positions)

Éamon Ó Cuív T.D. (Galway West)*
Timmy Dooley T.D. (Clare)*
Áine Brady (Kildare North)
Kathryn Byrne (Dublin Bay South)
Lisa Chambers (Mayo)
Arthur Griffin (Tipperary)

Joint Honorary Secretaries (Two Positions)

Dara Calleary TD (Mayo)*
Gerry Bridgett (Kildare South)
Margaret Conlon (Monaghan)
Committee of Twenty

Committee of 20

Henry Cleary (Mayo)
Lorraine Clifford (Dublin South Central)
Hugh Conaghan (Carlow)
Gillian Coughlan (Cork South West)
Marguerite Fitzpatrick (Meath West)
Joan Geraghty (Mayo)
Oliver Golden (Sligo)
Garrett Greene (Clare)
Mary Hode (Galway West)
Stephen Kearon (Wicklow)
Niall Kelleher (Kerry)
Claudia Kennedy (Donegal)
John Kirwan (Wexford)
James Lawless (Kildare North)
Alan McCrohan (Kerry)
Eoin Muldoon (Meath East)
Stephanie Murphy-Penn (Galway West)
Eoin Neylon (Clare)
Emmett O'Brien (Limerick)
Leonie O'Connell (Tipperary)
David O'Connor (Kerry)
Emer O'Donovan (Cork East)
Laura Reid (Dublin North West)
Tom Reilly (Galway East)
Brig Ryan (Cork South Central)
Sarah Ryan (Dublin Rathdown)
Michael Smyth (Monaghan)


That Sarah Ryan is from my neck of the woods. She's okay herself but pure dynasty politics all the same. Her whole family going back were FF TDs right to the start. She was even a councillor herself for a bit if I'm not mistaken. Any FF'ers here know what the "Committee of 20" is? Must be very prestigious seeing as only 25 are up for it!

I know the bloke going for VP there from college. He's only my go (mid-20's). Pure died in the wool party man. Can't see past the glory of Dev and all that crack. He must be a shoe in so given that I'd imagine most of their 'delegates' probably knew Dev personally! lol

antoobrien

Srianadh wrote: »

Clearing out the inbox and said email came up again. Just noticed this; they have the full list of would be's on it. Lets play a game of spot the dynasties!

You missed Aine Brady - sister and daughter of the Kitts from Galway East.

I don't recall hearing of Stephanie Murphy-Penn (Galway West - my constituency) or Tom Reilly (Galway East) in the local news so there's a mix of newer and older there (Mary Hoade & Dev og are around for a while and are due to be put out to pasture).

Srianadh

I never knew she was one of the Kitts. Saw Dev og in there yeah. Can't say I know the Hoade woman. Does anyone know who these people actually are? I mean, out of all the Dubs I only know who Ryan is. Has anyone come across these Laura and Lorraine characters before? I'd love to know what age these people are and if they've connections to politicians past. Is there really an attempt at FF nua or is this the old guard under different names?

antoobrien

Srianadh wrote: »

Can't say I know the Hoade woman. Does anyone know who these people actually are?

Mary Hoade is one of the talking heads you hear every so often in local media - which probably applies to a lot of them.

Stroke Politics

Marguerite Fitzpatrick (Meath West) was Tommy Byrne's P.A. until the voters of Meath East ditched him, only to see him turn up in the Seanad with a massive 47 voted in the 2011 Seanad election. Was a candidate for Navan TC in the local elections of 2009....

GRMA

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

You are being economical with the truth there. He was expelled after the Mahon report was published - which occurred a number of weeks after the Ard Fheis.

The FF position for years was that whatever action necessary would be taken after the tribunal published its report. That is what occurred, and rightly or wrongly Ahern could not be stopped from attending the Ard Fheis as an ordinary member so long as he was still a member.

He wont be there this year.

You mean when it got to the point that others had dug the heads f FF out of the sand and made them see the (obvious for YEARS) truth?

StillWaters

What is the Committee of 20? is it the new name for their Executive?

Sierra Oscar

StillWaters wrote: »

What is the Committee of 20? is it the new name for their Executive?

The Committee of 20 is nothing new, has been around for a long time. It is basically those who are elected to the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) at the Ard Fheis. The elections would be very competitive indeed, and it is fantastic to see so many new candidates put their name forward this year.

StillWaters

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

The Committee of 20 is nothing new, has been around for a long time. It is basically those who are elected to the Ard Chomhairle (National Executive) at the Ard Fheis. The elections would be very competitive indeed, and it is fantastic to see so many new candidates put their name forward this year.

Thank you, so its the same body as the National Executive? do you have a one person one vote, or how are they elected?

Sierra Oscar

StillWaters wrote: »

Thank you, so its the same body as the National Executive? do you have a one person one vote, or how are they elected?

Indeed it is the same body as the National Executive, it is essentially the elections to the National Executive that occur during the Ard Fheis.

In the past it was based upon a delegate system, but this year will be the first time that 'One Member, One Vote' is in place for the Ard Fheis. So basically each member has their own vote.

StillWaters

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Indeed it is the same body as the National Executive, it is essentially the elections to the National Executive that occur during the Ard Fheis.

In the past it was based upon a delegate system, but this year will be the first time that 'One Member, One Vote' is in place for the Ard Fheis. So basically each member has their own vote.

Thanks. I do know one of the nominees on the list. Decent guy, non dynastic. Will watch with interest.

Srianadh

StillWaters wrote: »

Thanks. I do know one of the nominees on the list. Decent guy, non dynastic. Will watch with interest.

Well have to see how those with no dynastic ties get on. Only then will we know just how much (if at all) things in FF are changing. Don't want to be over cynical with 'em however I'm yet to be convinced that they've changed on iota. I'm told of lots of internal changes etc. but for us ordinary punters that means diddly squat I'm afraid.

Sierra, you seem to be a person in the know here. Who of these folks are worrth keeping an eye on then and honestly, who of these have some family tie to e-politicians?

Sierra Oscar

Srianadh wrote: »

Well have to see how those with no dynastic ties get on. Only then will we know just how much (if at all) things in FF are changing. Don't want to be over cynical with 'em however I'm yet to be convinced that they've changed on iota. I'm told of lots of internal changes etc. but for us ordinary punters that means diddly squat I'm afraid.

Sierra, you seem to be a person in the know here. Who of these folks are worrth keeping an eye on then and honestly, who of these have some family tie to e-politicians?

Did you follow the Committee of 20 elections at the last Ard Fheis? The positions were heavily contested, and the elections saw many new names and faces being elected to the Ard Chomhairle.

Srianadh wrote: »

Sierra, you seem to be a person in the know here. Who of these folks are worrth keeping an eye on then and honestly, who of these have some family tie to e-politicians?

I know quite a few of the candidates, so I don't necessarily want to start discussing specific names. However in saying that, I cant really spot many 'dynastic' names in that list.

To be honest, I wouldn't hold someones family connections against them. I judge people on their own merits. I know there are those who get a lot of stick for being interpreted as part of a 'dynasty', but people are capable of standing on their own two feet too. Now if someone is relying solely on their name to get elected . . . well lets just say that there aren't many who would be impressed with such a person, and they wouldn't get too far. And to be honest that sort of behaviour doesn't seem to be as widespread as it was before, and that probably can be said for all of the political parties.

Srianadh

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Did you follow the Committee of 20 elections at the last Ard Fheis? The positions were heavily contested, and the elections saw many new names and faces being elected to the Ard Chomhairle.



I know quite a few of the candidates, so I don't necessarily want to start discussing specific names. However in saying that, I cant really spot many 'dynastic' names in that list.

To be honest, I wouldn't hold someones family connections against them. I judge people on their own merits. I know there are those who get a lot of stick for being interpreted as part of a 'dynasty', but people are capable of standing on their own two feet too. Now if someone is relying solely on their name to get elected . . . well lets just say that there aren't many who would be impressed with such a person, and they wouldn't get too far. And to be honest that sort of behaviour doesn't seem to be as widespread as it was before, and that probably can be said for all of the political parties.

Must say that I'd never heard of this committee before. The only reason I took note of FF's internal elections this time is that I know the guy running for VP and got forwarded some FF email with that list for that reason.

I'm glad to hear that there aren't many dynastic names. I'll agree that it should be on a person's ability regardless of anything else but people in parties have to realize that to us ordinary punters, a lot of dynastic politicians do seem to get ahead simply because of their name, mainly because so many of them are such disappointing public reps. It'd be good for any party to move away from that way of doing business.

As an aside: is there anyway for the general public to find out about these folks? Seeing as they're going to be in a position to influence party policy no doubt, I think there's a legitimate cause for the public to know what they're about? I must say that I have an unhealthy curiousity with FF these days. I'd like to believe they're changing simply because everything else is so bloody disappointing (no alternative). However when I see Martin, O'Dee, Dooley, Ó Cuív, etc. out in front of the cameras I think, "what's really changed?". McGrath gives me some hope as did your lot joining ALDE. We need a proper Liberal party in Ireland. If you told me 10 years ago that would be FF I'd have laughed at you however, I'd welcome any proper Liberal party of any hue at this stage.

Sierra Oscar

Srianadh wrote: »

Must say that I'd never heard of this committee before. The only reason I took note of FF's internal elections this time is that I know the guy running for VP and got forwarded some FF email with that list for that reason.

I guess that is not all that surprising, considering they are internal party positions. You can find some very brief organizational information here. The page is somewhat outdated now as it does not take into account the changes relating to 'One Member, One Vote' - i.e. the delegate system to the Ard Fheis is no longer in existence.

Srianadh wrote: »

As an aside: is there anyway for the general public to find out about these folks? Seeing as they're going to be in a position to influence party policy no doubt, I think there's a legitimate cause for the public to know what they're about? I must say that I have an unhealthy curiousity with FF these days. I'd like to believe they're changing simply because everything else is so bloody disappointing (no alternative). However when I see Martin, O'Dee, Dooley, Ó Cuív, etc. out in front of the cameras I think, "what's really changed?". McGrath gives me some hope as did your lot joining ALDE. We need a proper Liberal party in Ireland. If you told me 10 years ago that would be FF I'd have laughed at you however, I'd welcome any proper Liberal party of any hue at this stage.

Well, as they are internal elections most of the literature and the likes would be targeted at FF members. However you can read a bio on each of the candidates at last years Ard Fheis here within the Clár which is publicly available. The elections information starts from page 59 onwards. Many of the candidates also seem to have setup facebook groups for their campaign, so that could be worth checking out also if you are interested. The Clár for this years Ard Fheis has not been published yet, but I would imagine it will be soon.

allthedoyles

This Ard Fheis will be extra special as the National Executive will now be 32 county based :

see :

Fianna Fáil has registered with the UK Electoral Commission and is now a recognised party in Northern Ireland.
It has not as yet officially contested any elections in Northern Ireland

Srianadh

So am I right in saying that there's 15 incumbents from that list then? Only 5 seats up for grabs for the 12 others? Ouch. Tight race. Been trying to do a bit of digging but most of their Facebook campaign pages don't give away much about them really. I have noted though that of the 27 listed above, 3 are sitting councillors, 1 is an ex-councillor, 2 are unsuccessful council candidates, 3 are one of these "Local Area Reps" that FF have been putting in places they have nobody (and at least one of these is another failed council candidate) and 1 is an ex-Ministerial adviser (to Dick Roche of all people!).

So when you deduct these & the incumbents that leaves only 8 truly fresh faces from the 27 candidates. Not too impressive a figure really. Of the 8 I wonder how many have connections I'm missing? Folks, care to help out?
They are:
Hugh Conaghan (Carlow)
Joan Geraghty (Mayo)
Oliver Golden (Sligo)
Alan McCrohan (Kerry)
Eoin Muldoon (Meath East)
Eoin Neylon (Clare)
Emer O'Donovan (Cork East)
Tom Reilly (Galway East)

hughj

Hi I can only help you with the first name on that list as I am Hugh Conaghan

I share many of your concerns about dynasty politics but unfortunately I will disappoint you because my grandfather was a Cllr and T.D. However I don't expect to get elected on the back of a name those days are gone and rightly so in my view.

Also I'm afraid I will disappoint you when it comes to being a past candidate because at 22 years old I was nominated by my Cumann to contest the Carlow Town council elections in 2009 where I was ultimately unsuccessful.

I don't see these as bad things however. I got involved in politics because when I was younger I saw my grandad fight for his local community in Donegal and represent people who needed a voice. I saw the good that politics could achieve and admired it greatly.

The same with being selected as a candidate in 09, I was very honoured not to mention humbled by the fact that local party members placed their faith in me by putting my name forward.

So this year at 27 years old I was equally honoured when they nominated me to contest the C20 elections within the party.

My family history doesn't come into it, my previous run during the 09 locals doesn't come into it either. It's an opportunity to represent the grassroots of Fianna Fáil at C20 level as the party undergoes huge and in my view long overdue internal reforms.

I'm not running for any other reason than I believe that the grassroots of any political party should be heard clearly within that party's structure.

I hope this helps.

Hugh Conaghan

Srianadh

Thanks Hugh for the response and more so the honesty. Wish you every success in your election.

hughj

Thanks very much Srianadh

hughj

hughj wrote: »

Hi I can only help you with the first name on that list as I am Hugh Conaghan

I share many of your concerns about dynasty politics but unfortunately I will disappoint you because my grandfather was a Cllr and T.D. However I don't expect to get elected on the back of a name those days are gone and rightly so in my view.

Also I'm afraid I will disappoint you when it comes to being a past candidate because at 22 years old I was nominated by my Cumann to contest the Carlow Town council elections in 2009 where I was ultimately unsuccessful.

I don't see these as bad things however. I got involved in politics because when I was younger I saw my grandad fight for his local community in Donegal and represent people who needed a voice. I saw the good that politics could achieve and admired it greatly.

The same with being selected as a candidate in 09, I was very honoured not to mention humbled by the fact that local party members placed their faith in me by putting my name forward.

So this year at 27 years old I was equally honoured when they nominated me to contest the C20 elections within the party.

My family history doesn't come into it, my previous run during the 09 locals doesn't come into it either. It's an opportunity to represent the grassroots of Fianna Fáil at C20 level as the party undergoes huge and in my view long overdue internal reforms.

I'm not running for any other reason than I believe that the grassroots of any political party should be heard clearly within that party's structure.

I hope this helps.

Hugh Conaghan

I appreciate your unmasked foray into the proverbial Lion's Den here, but to say your family history doesn't come into it is a little bit dubious, to say the least! Your family history dictates that you shall support the party ahead of any other cause, including the best interests of the country. For example, is there any ideological merit to your running? What are your plans/hopes/dreams that can only be realised through running for FF? Besides getting elected, of course

skearon

Srianadh wrote: »

So am I right in saying that there's 15 incumbents from that list then? Only 5 seats up for grabs for the 12 others? Ouch. Tight race. Been trying to do a bit of digging but most of their Facebook campaign pages don't give away much about them really. I have noted though that of the 27 listed above, 3 are sitting councillors, 1 is an ex-councillor, 2 are unsuccessful council candidates, 3 are one of these "Local Area Reps" that FF have been putting in places they have nobody (and at least one of these is another failed council candidate) and 1 is an ex-Ministerial adviser (to Dick Roche of all people!).

So when you deduct these & the incumbents that leaves only 8 truly fresh faces from the 27 candidates. Not too impressive a figure really. Of the 8 I wonder how many have connections I'm missing? Folks, care to help out?
They are:
Hugh Conaghan (Carlow)
Joan Geraghty (Mayo)
Oliver Golden (Sligo)
Alan McCrohan (Kerry)
Eoin Muldoon (Meath East)
Eoin Neylon (Clare)
Emer O'Donovan (Cork East)
Tom Reilly (Galway East)

What's wrong with being a former adviser to Dick Roche? He's a lovely man :-)

Plus I've never run for the CommitteeOf20.com before, so am a fresh face in that regard

michael999999

skearon wrote: »

What's wrong with being a former adviser to Dick Roche? He's a lovely man :-)

Plus I've never run for the CommitteeOf20.com before, so am a fresh face in that regard[/quot

Are you the same Skearon that makes he's living charging fianna fail to host there websites?

michael999999

skearon wrote: »

What's wrong with being a former adviser to Dick Roche? He's a lovely man :-)

Plus I've never run for the CommitteeOf20.com before, so am a fresh face in that regard

Did you ever host websites for Dick Roche?