This article is from page 13 of the 2011-01-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
A FORMER first citizen of Clare, who stood for Labour in three general elections but left the party over a quarter of a century ago, has pledged her allegiance to the cause once more as the local organisation bids to return a TD for the county for the first time in 19 years.
Former mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy has embraced the Labour Party campaign, actively joining in the canvassing campaign of Michael McNamara that was officially launched by party leader Eamon Gilmore on a visit to the county last Thursday.
And, the current mayor of Clare, Cllr Christy Curtin, another former Labour Party member, hasn’t ruled out the possibility of backing Mr McNamara’s campaign. Mayor Curtin revealed that “the jury is out on who I will be backing – I will wait to see that the policies are to see if I backed the Labour candidate”.
“This is the first time I have endorsed a Labour Party candidate since I resigned from the party in 1985,” McCarthy told The Clare People . “I haven’t canvassed for any candidate in the 26 years since then, other than Mary Robinson’s presidential campaign in 1990.
“I’m doing it because I like the candidate. I’m doing it because I admire his stand on issues. I admire his ap- proach to issues – he’s young and he’s energetic and he’s committed to County Clare. The Labour Party policies are attractive and I like what I’ve seen of them. We need a fair and just society and the Labour Party and Michael McNamara in Clare holds those views – those views that I hold,” she added.
Cllr McCarthy, who stood for Labour in the 1977, 1981 and February 1982 General Elections outlined her commitment to the Labour campaign after party leader Eamon Gilmore said that “the big thing with this campaign is that Michael McNamara has the support of the extended Labour family election in Clare”.
Meanwhile, Cllr McCarthy has revealed that while she still holds on to her independent status on Clare County Council and Shannon Town Council, she hasn’t ruled out re-joining the Labour Party on a full-time basis.
“The option of re-joining the party has always been there for me,” she said, “but it’s not something I’m thinking of at the moment. What I’m thinking of is what has been happening to our country and have grown more dismayed, anxious and angry at what has been happening at the way the ordinary people are suffering.”