Patsy O’Brien setting the pace on the canvass trail

ROBEEN based councillor Patsy O’Brien has hit the ground running ahead of the upcoming General Election. The poll topping councillor has shook-up the campaign with his early declaration of standing as an Independent in the Mayo five-seat constituency.

The former Fine Gael councillor polled a whopping 2,700 on his first outing as an Independent a few months ago, repeating his poll topping outing with Fine Gael in the previous election campaigns.

The recent decision of Michael Ring to bring the curtain down on his remarkable three decades of service to Mayo, coupled with the return of parts of south Mayo that had been in Galway West for the last two elections, has opened up a whole new vista as Mayo returns to a five-seat again.

“The response has been hugely positive and I have already been canvassing strongly in the Tourmakeady area. When Ballinrobe was a 3-seat constituency, I served the people of Clogher, Partry and Carnacon for five years and they all know me in those parts,” said Cllr O’Brien.

“I am absolutely amazed with the level of support coming my way from all over south and east Mayo. Lots of people I have known from the IFA scene are ringing me from around the county and pledging support. There is so much goodwill out there for a strong Independent who is in touch with rural issues.”   

Cllr O’Brien’s opening pace is not going unnoticed among the voters. “Patsy is a renowned vote getter and sees this as his chance to become the first TD from the deep south of Mayo in 100 years. He is on the trail from Bonniconlon Show to Manulla and so many other places. Patsy relishes a challenge and is a serious contender to create a shock result in Mayo,” said a keen political observer at the weekend.