GE2020 Kildare South

aodh_rua

Now that nominations have officially closed, Kfm have published a full list of candidates.

They are:

HAYDEN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
(LINDA HAYDEN, of 41 Langton Park, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
Account Manager)

BERRY NON PARTY
(CATHAL BERRY, of Corrig Lodge, Portarlington, Co. Laois
Medical Doctor)

MAHER GREEN PARTY/COMHAONTAS GLAS
(RONAN MAHER, of 6 St. Conleth's Terrace, Naas Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
IT Specialist)

HEYDON FINE GAEL
(MARTIN HEYDON, of Blackrath, Colbinstown, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

UÍ BHROIN SOLIDARITY - PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT
(RÓISÍN UÍ BHROIN, of 3A Church Crescent, Athy, Co. Kildare R14 Y586
Music Teacher)

O'LOUGHLIN FIANNA FÁIL
(FIONA O'LOUGHLIN, of 'Cappanargid', 63 The Great Southern, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

DOYLE FIANNA FÁIL
(SUZANNE DOYLE, of 5 Jockeys, Claregate Street, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

WALL THE LABOUR PARTY
(MARK WALL, of Castlerheban, Athy, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

RYAN SINN FÉIN
(PATRICIA RYAN, of No. 4 Ard Evan View, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare
County Councillor)

MHIC GIB AONTÚ
(ANITA MHIC GIB, of 6, Ascaill Chnoc na Gréine, Cill Chuillinn, Co. Chill Dara
Príomhoide)

MCLOUGHLIN HEALY NON PARTY
(FIONA MCLOUGHLIN HEALY, of Crotanstown Grange, The Green Road, The Curragh, Co. Kildare
Councillor)

WishUWereHere

aodh_rua wrote: »

Now that nominations have officially closed, Kfm have published a full list of candidates.

They are:

HAYDEN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS
(LINDA HAYDEN, of 41 Langton Park, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
Account Manager)

BERRY NON PARTY
(CATHAL BERRY, of Corrig Lodge, Portarlington, Co. Laois
Medical Doctor)

MAHER GREEN PARTY/COMHAONTAS GLAS
(RONAN MAHER, of 6 St. Conleth's Terrace, Naas Road, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
IT Specialist)

HEYDON FINE GAEL
(MARTIN HEYDON, of Blackrath, Colbinstown, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

UÍ BHROIN SOLIDARITY - PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT
(RÓISÍN UÍ BHROIN, of 3A Church Crescent, Athy, Co. Kildare R14 Y586
Music Teacher)

O'LOUGHLIN FIANNA FÁIL
(FIONA O'LOUGHLIN, of 'Cappanargid', 63 The Great Southern, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

DOYLE FIANNA FÁIL
(SUZANNE DOYLE, of 5 Jockeys, Claregate Street, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

WALL THE LABOUR PARTY
(MARK WALL, of Castlerheban, Athy, Co. Kildare
Public Representative)

RYAN SINN FÉIN
(PATRICIA RYAN, of No. 4 Ard Evan View, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare
County Councillor)

MHIC GIB AONTÚ
(ANITA MHIC GIB, of 6, Ascaill Chnoc na Gréine, Cill Chuillinn, Co. Chill Dara
Príomhoide)

MCLOUGHLIN HEALY NON PARTY
(FIONA MCLOUGHLIN HEALY, of Crotanstown Grange, The Green Road, The Curragh, Co. Kildare
Councillor)

Anyone like to make a prediction? Personally, if Hayden is re-elected on first count, the people of Kildare South put a whole new meaning on parish pump politics. FF destroyed this country for a generation, and yet they are poll toppers?

L1011

The return of Monasterevin should give Wall a very good chance. If all 4 were up he'd be home already I think.

Will be interesting to see what the soldiers conditions candidate (Berry) gets and who they transfer to.

WishUWereHere

L1011 wrote: »

The return of Monasterevin should give Wall a very good chance. If all 4 were up he'd be home already I think.

Will be interesting to see what the soldiers conditions candidate (Berry) gets and who they transfer to.

I was a Labour voter all my life. Sadly for those few good people left in the party, I will never vote Labour again, not after the carry on of Gilmore & burton.

Traitors to the Labour movement.

aodh_rua

Fine Gael usually lag the national polls here, so the current levels wouldn't deliver a quota.

FF took 2 off 36% in 2016, and aren't far off the same level again.

Wall will do well in Athy, but Labour have no public reps elsewhere.

I'm not sure people are as generally sympathetic to the Defence Forces as you'dexpect, but Berry will get good support and being in Portarlington will give him some local support there, but could harm him otherwise.

I think there will be a non-FF/FG seat, and it will come down to the eliminations. Heydon won't get transfers and could be overtaken.

Fiona McLoughlin-Healy is the dark horse. She has gotten good national attention for highlighting corruption and got a huge personal vote in the locals.

Orion

L1011 wrote: »

The return of Monasterevin should give Wall a very good chance. If all 4 were up he'd be home already I think.

Will be interesting to see what the soldiers conditions candidate (Berry) gets and who they transfer to.

Berry will probably transfer to Linda Hayden who's been part of the Armed Services pay campaign for a long time.

Some other changes too - Derrinturn, Carbury and up to Clogherinka is now SK not NK. That screws SF in NK - be interesting what it does to SK.

Don't forget there's only 3 seats up for grabs as the Ceann Comhairle is automatic.

marieholmfan

WishUWereHere wrote: »

I was a Labour voter all my life. Sadly for those few good people left in the party, I will never vote Labour again, not after the carry on of Gilmore & burton.

Traitors to the Labour movement.

Mark Wall isn't a traitor to the Labour movement in my opinion (I am in Kilcock and can't vote for him) .


Your vote is your own and you choose how to use and for any reason of course.

WishUWereHere

marieholmfan wrote: »

Mark Wall isn't a traitor to the Labour movement in my opinion (I am in Kilcock and can't vote for him) .


Your vote is your own and you choose how to use and for any reason of course.

I never said He is. Indeed I have only heard good about both Him & His Dad. BUT, He’s standing under the liebour umbrella, and after what Gilmore & burton have done over the past years in the name of Labour, sorry, I will never vote Labour again.

silver2020

Fiona O'Loughlin is a shoo-in, she had a very strong launch last Sunday in the town hall and if FF get into government, she's a contender for a cabinet position.

Heydon is another shoo-in - FG are almost like FF in last election. People not admitting they will vote for them, but overall they have not done a bad job.

Seat 3 is up for grabs and if FF manage the vote, Suzanne Doyle will get in. Mark Wall has a chance if the the count goes on and the also-rans are eliminated.

Green Party candidate is the dark horse as they are very transfer friendly - a friend is a GP councillor in Dublin and even he doesn't know whether they'll have 6 or 16 td's as 2nd 3rd & 4th preferences don't show up in opinion polls.

WishUWereHere

silver2020 wrote: »

Fiona O'Loughlin is a shoe-in, she had a very strong launch last Sunday in the town hall and if FF get into government, she's a contender for a cabinet position.

Heydon is another shoe-in - FG are almost like FF in last election. People not admitting they will vote for them, but overall they have not done a bad job.

Seat 3 is up for grabs and if FF manage the vote, Suzanne Doyle will get in. Mark Wall has a chance if the the count goes on and the also-rans are eliminated.

Green Party candidate is the dark horse as they are very transfer friendly - a friend is a GP councillor in Dublin and even he doesn't know whether they'll have 6 or 16 td's as 2nd 3rd & 4th preferences don't show up in opinion polls.

Mind me asking what You mean by a ‘shoe in’?

raven136

Heydon will get in
O'Loughlin will get in

Scrap for the last seat.

The "army" candidate is an unusual one. Campaign launched by Michael McDowell and very little mention of military in it. Seems a very PD type candidate (in old parlance)
If FF swing is big then they could have 3 td's in Kildare South!

Stan27

Is martin heydon any good ?

WishUWereHere

raven136 wrote: »

Scrap for the last seat.

The "army" candidate is an unusual one. Campaign launched by Michael McDowell and very little mention of military in it. Seems a very PD type candidate (in old parlance)

Regarding the army candidate, I was up the town this morning & sss He has opened an office where Sean O’F used to be. Also plenty of posters supporting Him. Saw the fencing where Findlay’s used to be with His posters.

Personally, i’d Love to know what he has to offer.

WishUWereHere

Stan27 wrote: »

Is martin heydon any good ?

Purely my own opinion, I would answer Your question with a NO.

raven136

WishUWereHere wrote: »

Regarding the army candidate, I was up the town this morning & sss He has opened an office where Sean O’F used to be. Also plenty of posters supporting Him. Saw the fencing where Findlay’s used to be with His posters.

Personally, i’d Love to know what he has to offer.

Lots of publicity and money into his campaign

silver2020

WishUWereHere wrote: »

Mind me asking what You mean by a ‘shoe in’?

apologies - it's shoo-in, unfortunately predictive text sometimes puts a wrong word in. Though I do suspect most people knew what was being said - just as most people who see "should of" know that person means "should have". You'd be creating correction posts all day if you were to police all the minor spelling and grammatical errors

WishUWereHere

silver2020 wrote: »

apologies - it's shoo-in, unfortunately predictive text sometimes puts a wrong word in. Though I do suspect most people knew what was being said - just as most people who see "should of" know that person means "should have". You'd be creating correction posts all day if you were to police all the minor spelling and grammatical errors

No apologies necessary. Whether it’s a shoe in or a shoo in, I’m still uncertain what you mean.

I do hope it doesn’t mean ‘a certainty:’, as I hope Hayden is not one of those.

Also, if that is the case, what You are saying is that FO’L is also a cert - she a member of the very party who almost destroyed our beloved country.

God help us!

WishUWereHere

raven136 wrote: »

Lots of publicity and money into his campaign

Publicity costs money. Berry seems to be creating a stir, wonder who is backing Him?

Darc19

Unfortunately my vote is still in Cork, but Cathal berry is certainly the guy getting the talk.

If he can harness the military vote he has a very strong chance of taking the third seat.

Remember, Kildare has thousands of military votes. It's not just the current soldiers, but retired personnel and all the family members.

He also comes across as intelligent and reasonable and likeable.

Might put a few bob on him at 5/2

L1011

Plenty of the Kildare military votes are in the wrong constituency, though. A very substantial proportion of my school friends were military kids in Maynooth.

Calhoun

The new constituencies are a pain in the arse, got removed from Laois to Kildare south.

Most folks i would talk to definitely think O'Loughlin will do well. Not sure about Heydon but i heard between himself an O'Loughlin they are hanging their name on the new school in Monestervin so good chances they will get returned if that resonates.

I am not sure about Berry, he is a relative unknown for the area could be wrong though

silver2020

Agree with above. Can't see Berry getting a seat. He'll get decent number, but will fall far short. I'd say the reason for the low betting odds is that there are more bookie shops in Newbridge than Costa Coffee shops in the county Many say he's decent and all that, but FG & especially FF are entrenched in the area. The new part is very much FF/Lab (Sean Fleming's vote), so it will probably be down to FF/Lab for the last seat.
I'd still keep an eye on the Greens. If the younger vote comes out and he mounts any form of campaign, he could be in with a shout. This Saturday vote could make a lot of polls look silly and you could get a 70%+ turnout

silver2020

WishUWereHere wrote: »

No apologies necessary. Whether it’s a shoe in or a shoo in, I’m still uncertain what you mean.

I do hope it doesn’t mean ‘a certainty:’, as I hope Hayden is not one of those.

Also, if that is the case, what You are saying is that FO’L is also a cert - she a member of the very party who almost destroyed our beloved country.

God help us!

shoo-in
noun [ C usually singular ]
UK /ˈʃuː.ɪn/ US /ˈʃuː.ɪn/

someone who is certain to win an election or a competition:
He's a shoo-in for the White House.
Liverpool's a shoo-in to win the title this season.

Calhoun

Not sure on the greens but with some of the ideas going around like communal cars for local rural villages ECT I don't know if they are popular.

They didn't do well last time but we shall see as they are up at the moment in the polls. Going on the polls from today if say it will be FG, FF, and SF.

WishUWereHere

Calhoun wrote: »

Not sure on the greens but with some of the ideas going around like communal cars for local rural villages ECT I don't know if they are popular.

They didn't do well last time but we shall see as they are up at the moment in the polls. Going on the polls from today if say it will be FG, FF, and SF.

I bought a diesel car back in 2009 based on the government of the day saying it was cleaner to run on diesel. The greens were in bed with ff then.

NEVER will I trust a word out of their mouths again.

Calhoun

WishUWereHere wrote: »

I bought a diesel car back in 2009 based on the government of the day saying it was cleaner to run on diesel. The greens were in bed with ff then.

NEVER will I trust a word out of their mouths again.

My problem with them is they essentially are a tax everything party without any reasonable social policy to make it workable. Eamonn Ryan has had some PR pieces this week trying to make that point but when you have words like fuel poverty going around it really damages them.

What damages them even more is poorly concieved ideas about how we can all share the burden of being green.

There also is an element of smugness that people living in commuter belts was a selfish decision and not because options for homes were limited .

Ikillbees

Wall should do very well in the athy and monsterevin areas. Think he'll do well enough in these areas to go close.

WishUWereHere

Ikillbees wrote: »

Wall should do very well in the athy and monsterevin areas. Think he'll do well enough in these areas to go close.

But isn’t that Wall’s fall down? Kildare South does not finish in Monasterevin. The largest town in the area is Newbridge, but what has he done here? And for that matter what has Heydon done for Newbridge also?

StupidLikeAFox

Everything went against mark wall in the last election. The constituency went from 4 seats to 3 and the bit that was lost included monasterevin, castlemitchell, kilberry etc which meant he couldn't even vote for himself. This was coupled with a general labour wipeout nationally. He ended up in 4th place last time out in the general election but he also topped the poll in the local elections last year along with his labour running mate - there is huge support in the athy MD for him and the party. People in general don't like labour however so it will be interesting to see whether the personal vote for mark wall will outweigh the general negativity to labour

Sean OF was also strong in athy, and his seat is guaranteed, so it will be interesting to see if that vote transfers to the other FF candidates.

As a general point I think it's crazy how much negativity is associated with labour and the greens (both junior coalition partners) for the bad times, yet people are happily breezing between FF and FG who were the biggest parties in the run up to and during the recession.

StupidLikeAFox

WishUWereHere wrote: »

But isn’t that Wall’s fall down? Kildare South does not finish in Monasterevin. The largest town in the area is Newbridge, but what has he done here? And for that matter what has Heydon done for Newbridge also?

Mark Wall has been holding advice clinics in newbridge for the past number of years - I'm not sure what impact that has or who goes to these type of meetings. It might be some advantage over the likes of Suzanne Doyle, Patricia Ryan, Fiona O'Loughlin Healy etc who have zero presence in the south of the county and might be depending solely on their local votes

Calhoun

As mentioned above Fiona at least has seemed to have tacked her name onto the new school on monestervin.

As one of the new voters, i know more about her than i do Wall.

aodh_rua

Remember to vote for/have an opinion on which Fiona you mean. Fiona O'Loughlin is the FF TD, and Fiona McLoughlin Healy is the independent who was bullied out of FG for trying to raise issues about KWETB, and who has been taking on a lot of local vested interests.

Calhoun

aodh_rua wrote: »

Remember to vote for/have an opinion on which Fiona you mean. Fiona O'Loughlin is the FF TD, and Fiona McLoughlin Healy is the independent who was bullied out of FG for trying to raise issues about KWETB, and who has been taking on a lot of local vested interests.

Crazy stuff.

L1011

Calhoun wrote: »

Crazy stuff.

One area of the UK elected two MEPs with the same name last year. With VERY different political stances.

sydthebeat

silver2020 wrote: »

Agree with above. Can't see Berry getting a seat. He'll get decent number, but will fall far short. I'd say the reason for the low betting odds is that there are more bookie shops in Newbridge than Costa Coffee shops in the county Many say he's decent and all that, but FG & especially FF are entrenched in the area. The new part is very much FF/Lab (Sean Fleming's vote), so it will probably be down to FF/Lab for the last seat.
I'd still keep an eye on the Greens. If the younger vote comes out and he mounts any form of campaign, he could be in with a shout. This Saturday vote could make a lot of polls look silly and you could get a 70%+ turnout

while not saying that Berry will get in, but there is a big push around the Portarlington area to present him as the Portarlington Candidate.

Theres still a bitter taste around there because of the electroy boundary change, and if we're looking at something like 8,500 votes to get in.... having a strong showing around Portarlington and its environs (with about 8000 eligible voters) would go a long way towards that.

His single issue platform isnt going to do him any favours though.

Calhoun

L1011 wrote: »

One area of the UK elected two MEPs with the same name last year. With VERY different political stances.

I meant more the bullying from FG, especially as they are quick to call it out in SF.

Tacitus Kilgore

Thoughts on the soc dem candidate Linda Hayden?

Surely a better shout than Dr. Berry>

eusap

we can argue all day about local issues and parish pumps, but if people are voting for local names/local issues not sure linda hayden will do well.

If people vote for parties (soc dems) she might do ok. The older generation are better for voting for parties no matter who the candidate is.

Calhoun

Soc Dems might do well if they can keep the likes of Gannon hidden away until after the election.

Take it with a pinch of salt but the indo ranked Shortall poorly in the debate lastnight.

WishUWereHere

Calhoun wrote: »

Soc Dems might do well if they can keep the likes of Gannon hidden away until after the election.

Take it with a pinch of salt but the indo ranked Shortall poorly in the debate lastnight.

I watched the debate last night. I just couldn’t take Mick Martin & Mary Lou checking each other any more. I would never vote fg, but thought Leo kinda stood back & let the other go for each other’s throats.I thought RBB won it, hands down. RS? I’m of the opinion that the debate kind of by passed Her. But Her forte would surely have been on health, but why not a word on that topic?
Who ever decided on Howlin being at the end of the line? I got the impression the debate ran and he was only there to make up the numbers. Ryan didn’t impress me one bit. Not convinced by any of them being honest, bar RBB. I also thought Claire Byrne didn’t have the best of nights.

On another note, I live in Roseberry Hill and still waiting for any one of the prospective candidates to knock on my door.

aodh_rua

Calhoun wrote: »

I meant more the bullying from FG, especially as they are quick to call it out in SF.

It was pretty public in the end. She called out the FG mayor at the time for not allowing debate, and was rewarded with a suspension by FG nationally. After she resigned from the party, there was an active campaign to stop her from even presenting motions for debate.

She then romped home in the locals.

On the Portarlington votes, this will be a 3 seater but will need four thirds of a quota. It'll really depend on the order of eliminations, and Berry might struggle. The Defence Forces issue is not one that necessarily resonates locally beyond serving members families. I also think the McDowell support will come with a price - people have long memories, and it's hard to run on a caring member when you choose him to launch your campaign.

Calhoun

aodh_rua wrote: »

It was pretty public in the end. She called out the FG mayor at the time for not allowing debate, and was rewarded with a suspension by FG nationally. After she resigned from the party, there was an active campaign to stop her from even presenting motions for debate.

She then romped home in the locals.

On the Portarlington votes, this will be a 3 seater but will need four thirds of a quota. It'll really depend on the order of eliminations, and Berry might struggle. The Defence Forces issue is not one that necessarily resonates locally beyond serving members families. I also think the McDowell support will come with a price - people have long memories, and it's hard to run on a caring member when you choose him to launch your campaign.

That is pretty bad alright and its the type of politics that they would be hanging other parties for.

What was the issue? are you able to share or is it sensitive? Sounds like she is someone with conviction.

I am not sure if many serving families in Port, it seems to be a big commuter town. My wife is from the town and he is a relative unknown.

I did one of the mass email campaign things for disabilities in Ireland and he was the only candidate that didn't have an email to contact. That is a big red flag for me.

aodh_rua

Calhoun wrote: »

That is pretty bad alright and its the type of politics that they would be hanging other parties for.

What was the issue? are you able to share or is it sensitive? Sounds like she is someone with conviction.

I am not sure if many serving families in Port, it seems to be a big commuter town. My wife is from the town and he is a relative unknown.

I did one of the mass email campaign things for disabilities in Ireland and he was the only candidate that didn't have an email to contact. That is a big red flag for me.

Do a Google search on KWETB and you'll see what the controversy was about. There was also a Prime Time Investigates. Interestingly none of the other 39 members of the new Council would second her nomination to go back on the board.

Calhoun

aodh_rua wrote: »

Do a Google search on KWETB and you'll see what the controversy was about. There was also a Prime Time Investigates. Interestingly none of the other 39 members of the new Council would second her nomination to go back in the board.

Very interesting, might just give her a vote after finding this out as seems too have some conviction.

Magilla Gorilla

aodh_rua wrote: »

It was pretty public in the end. She called out the FG mayor at the time for not allowing debate, and was rewarded with a suspension by FG nationally. After she resigned from the party, there was an active campaign to stop her from even presenting motions for debate.

She then romped home in the locals.

If you're going to tell the story, why not give a full account of her antics on the council since she first got elected. She lost all goodwill (from all sides) very early on when she attempted to drag Fiona O'Loughlin through the mud over a Mickey Mouse grant to a group her brother was involved in. She seems to think everyone everywhere is corrupt while not being exactly whiter than white herself.



When your party colleagues don't want you alongside them.....



N.B. I'm not a member of any party and have never given FG or FF a vote in my life.

aodh_rua

Magilla Gorilla wrote: »

If you're going to tell the story, why not give a full account of her antics on the council since she first got elected. She lost all goodwill (from all sides) very early on when she attempted to drag Fiona O'Loughlin through the mud over a Mickey Mouse grant to a group her brother was involved in. She seems to think everyone everywhere is corrupt while not being exactly whiter than white herself.



When your party colleagues don't want you alongside them.....



N.B. I'm not a member of any party and have never given FG or FF a vote in my life.

You probably mean the Decade of Commemorations grant debacle.

FMH highlighted that FO'L chaired a committee that allocated a public grant to an organisation that had involvement from the O'Loughlin family. It's a requirement for public reps to declare conflicts of interest, with no minimum value on the sums involved, and the test is whether a member of the public might think there's a potential conflict. That did not happen.

There was no question of the grant being improper, but it got pretty ugly.

I think that grant was a couple of hundred euro and the KWETB has a budget of tens of millions. Where should we draw the line on how ethics rules begin and end?

Orion

Tacitus Kilgore wrote: »

Thoughts on the soc dem candidate Linda Hayden?

Surely a better shout than Dr. Berry>

First off I'm a SocDem.
Secondly I know Linda personally.
So take anything I say as biased.

She's a wonderful woman. Tireless advocate for sexual violence victims through AASVI (and a rape victim herself). Very committed to proper pay for defence forces - been active in that for a while.

That said getting her elected is a big ask in the current constituency. 3 seats up for grabs out of 4.

Fiona O'Loughlin will probably top the poll (FF got 36% between them last time. I know there's a running mate but with the Ceann Comhairle returned automatically she'll pick up his votes ahead of Doyle.

Hayden will be second. Topped last time but anti-FG sentiment and FF as above will get him over the line but not in top spot.

After that my money would be on Mark Wall with Berry as a (very) outside chance.

Orion

Calhoun wrote: »

Soc Dems might do well if they can keep the likes of Gannon hidden away until after the election.

Take it with a pinch of salt but the indo ranked Shortall poorly in the debate lastnight.

Well the Indo would in fairness. She wasn't the best at the debate but far from the worst. That title has to go to Eamon Ryan.

Calhoun

Orion wrote: »

Well the Indo would in fairness. She wasn't the best at the debate but far from the worst. That title has to go to Eamon Ryan.

The picture they used of him is tragic.

Orion

Calhoun wrote: »

The picture they used of him is tragic.

Much like his performance then.

Calhoun

Orion wrote: »

Much like his performance then.

Greens seem to be on a roll apparently Saoirse had a rough night on primetime.