Ready to declare?

Fitzpatrick ‘under pressure’ to declare in Claremorris

Michael Commins

FORMER long-serving Fianna Fáil councillor Sean Fitzpatrick is coming under pressure to let his name go before the selection convention for the new Claremorris six-seater constituency. With the merger of the Claremorris and Ballinrobe electoral areas in the new realignment, the Hollymount native has been asked by party activists to consider the situation in the new circumstances.
Mr Fitzpatrick has confirmed that he has had several approaches in the last three weeks to take a serious look at re-entering active politics in the county again.
“The matter has been raised with me by an amount of people in recent weeks. I’d be a reluctant candidate at this stage. If Pat McHugh was not running, I might consider it.
“I know I would probably be one of the best placed Fianna Fáil candidates if I were to seek a nomination. I lived in Claremorris and Ballinrobe towns for many years and was born and raised in Lehinch, Hollymount. The whole lie of the land suits me in a special way if I were to declare.”
Sean Fitzpatrick was co-opted to Mayo County Council back in 1968 to fill the seat vacated by poll-topper Willie Costello who moved away from Mayo after securing a major promotion with the insurance company with which he was working at the time. Sean was duly elected at the next election and served on Mayo County Council for 23 years until losing out narrowly in the 1991 election.
“I was squeezed out by certain elements of my own party. I was just 17 votes behind Tom Higgins (Fine Gael) from Kiltimagh when I was eliminated. I had an internal Fianna Fáil battle to fight at the time in the Claremorris area as well. When I sought a nomination for the next Council election in 1998 in the new Ballinrobe three-seater, I was again blocked at convention by a wing of my own party and delegates were directed to vote for other candidates.”
During his years on Mayo County Council, Sean Fitzpatrick commanded a lot of respect and was generally regarded as one of the most able councillors of his time. His grasp of protocol and procedure was in a league of its own. The major fall in the Fianna Fáil vote in the Claremorris town area has been one of the biggest political changes he has noticed at local level in the region.
“When I was running in the Claremorris area, I would take between 55 and 60 percent of the vote in the town boxes. That has now tumbled down to around the mid-20s figure. The party has also polled poorly in the General Election in Claremorris. The organisation has fallen down badly and needs a whole new approach. Claremorris town presents a serious challenge for Fianna Fáil at this time.”
While somewhat reluctant, there’s no doubt that Sean Fitzpatrick is leaving the door ajar at this stage. “Something has to be done about the collapse of the party vote in Claremorris. I also used to take around 60 percent of the vote in the general Hollymount area. I know the new merger suits me down to the ground should I decide to go. I have been involved with the party from childhood. However, if I had to be fighting against some of my own, I don’t think I could face that again. You never know in politics. We’ll see how things are shaping up in the coming weeks.”