Political bombshell

Mayo set for North–South divide

Ring to come under pressure as three FG deputies battle it out with Bev in South Mayo

EXCLUSIVE
Michael Commins

MAYO is set to be divided into two three-seater constituencies once again – but, sensationally, the county is set to undergo a North-South divide, rather than the old East-West format.
Such a move would see all three sitting Fine Gael deputies battling it out in the same constituency in the next general election – with Deputy Dara Calleary alone in the north.
A map of the redrawn constituency, drawn up by the Boundary Commission and seen by The Mayo News on Monday, clearly spells trouble for Fine Gael – and in particular Michael Ring, who would lose out on his traditional stronghold of Erris.
The new South Mayo three-seater would see the county’s three Fine Gael deputies locked together in the same constituency with party leader Enda Kenny in Castlebar, Michael Ring in Westport and John O’Mahony operating from his head office in Claremorris. Beverley Flynn, who may well be back in the Fianna Fáil fold by then, will not have to face the same intense competition from her side of the political fence.
The proposed new format would leave Dara Calleary as the only TD and Oireachtas member in North Mayo. But it is South Mayo that looks set to command huge interest as some of the biggest names in politics west of the Shannon prepare for imminent battle.
With party leader Enda Kenny regarded as ‘relatively safe’ in his Castlebar base, and with most of John O’Mahony’s base still intact in East and South Mayo, there’s no doubt at all but that Michael Ring, one of the party’s best known ‘grassroots’ deputies, is set to come under intense pressure. The new division will see him lose out on the vast area north of Newport and up through Erris where he has become a cult political figure over the past decade and where he outpolls all his rivals by a big margin.
The Westport deputy, stunned by the redrawing of the Mayo constituency, told The Mayo News that he was in a state of shock. “It’s outrageous. They’re out to get me. Bringing the new boundary down as far as Newport restricts me to my old County Council area with the exception of parts of South Mayo. This is the worst case of gerrymandering ever perpetrated on the people of Mayo and the country.
“People know how hard I work and they know that I get a huge vote in Erris and other areas outside Westport. I’ll seriously have to consider running in both South and North Mayo if this is ratified by the Commission.
“There’s nobody backed into the same kind of corner as I am on this one. I could be depending on the Inishturk vote to carry me across the line and that would be after the biggest fight of my political career. If I have to run two campaigns, I’ll do so. The people of Mayo won’t let me down.”