This article is from page 18 of the 2007-07-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
The other six days of the week how- ever the Shannon based councillor IS dedicated to the community, with the belief that the community is an ex- tension of family and knowing what
concerns a family helps understand the plight of a community.
It was while caring for her young family that Patricia first became in- terested in the world of politics.
Having given up her job to be at home, Patricia laughs as she remem- bers her attempt at being a house- BE Kon
““T hate house work,” she said. Like many families in the 1970s she was looking at the pay cheque and the amount of taxes being paid every Neto) e
She continuously brought the issue up with her late husband, Denis, who eventually called her bluff.
‘He told me to do something about it,” she laughed, “So I did.”
The young mother got involved
with the Labour Party. She believed it was her natural political home. Fianna Fail was in government for 16 years and it was associated with a lot of the poverty and hardship of the time.
‘I never considered Fine Gael,” she SrHKOe
In 1977 the outspoken party mem- ber argued that the party should run a candidate in the General Election. When no one else stood up to the mark, the young woman did it her- self.
Although not elected to Dail Eire- ann she was elected to Clare County Council in 1979.
She chuckles as she remembers how she brought her youngest son for his six-week check up, before spend-
ing the afternoon on the hustings.
This was a mother looking for change.
It is her family, in-laws and beloved late husband Denis that she credits with keeping her feet firmly on the eround and her life of politics on the road.
Despite coming from the Convent of Mercy, Kilrush, the school that produced the county’s first two fe- male councillors, Patricia had no in- tentions of engaging in a life of poli- tics in those formative years.
After leaving school she worked in DeBeers and moved to Shannon when she married the late Denis McCarthy. Her eyes light up as she mentions Shannon and her beloved husband.
While admitting home is where her family is and acknowledging that the first two Clare towns will always be part of her life, she said Shannon in- stantly felt like home.
‘When I moved to Shannon I had a sense of place, a sense of town and a sense of freedom. We were Settling in with other young families,” she said.
As the new mayor talks of her de- parted husband her tenses change between present and past.
For her he is never far away, and the advice and support he gave her throughout their marriage echoes near her still.
“We were very lucky,” she said, “and I realise not everyone was that lucky.”
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