A meeting was held, dubbed as a gathering of ‘two Barrys and a Billy’, taking reference from the inaugural topic discussed at the Fianna Fáil party conference. It began with a casual meet and greet with the party’s European election candidates over coffee. Among them were Barry Cowen (Midlands), incumbant MEPs Barry Andrews (Dublin) and Billy Kelleher (Ireland South). There was also Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Ireland South), who arrived in an election car adorned with her own photos. Midlands North-West candidates – Senators Lisa Chambers and Niall Blaney – were also in the lineup of the six European election candidates from the party.
The party members were encouraged to interact with these candidates over complimentary coffee, tea and scones. An assertive banner in the background reiterated ‘Europe Matters,’ urging voters to pay equal scrutiny to their votes for European, general, and local election candidates.
In a surprising move, Simon Harris, the Taoiseach, expressed pride in assigning the Minister of State role for the Gaeltacht to Fianna Fáil. Though his Irish is limited, he revealed plans for language lessons. When asked to comment, Irish native speaker Ms Ní Mhurchú cautiously remarked “feicimid”.
This casual meeting with the candidates underscores the party’s focus on the European elections, where a successful result could be deemed a victory. The decision to hold the event in Dublin was notably beneficial for incumbent MEP, Barry Andrews, as it aligns with his ongoing fight to maintain his Dublin seat.
It is anticipated that Billy Kelleher will retain his position, while Barry Cowen’s participation may earn the party its first Midlands North-West seat in a decade. Landing three MEPs would be considered a success, with faint hopes of a surprise win from Ms Chambers, Mr Blaney from Midlands North West, or Ms Ní Mhurchú from Ireland South.
The agenda highlighted the party’s principal policy areas including housing development, street safety, rural Ireland, financial stability, the disability sector, Northern Ireland and foreign affairs with an abundance of motions regarding Gaza. Despite its featuring in the initial debate alongside transport, the subject of climate change was notably absent from the planned motions.
The first order of business regards potholes, with a plea to the Government to urge regional authorities to swiftly rectify the pothole issue plaguing non-national urban and rural roads throughout various counties. As Micheál Martin, the party leader, prepares to deliver his key address – a highlight of the ardfheis – an audience of roughly 1,500 loyal party members is anticipated. The ardfheis acts as a prelude to the elections, with expectations that Mr Martin, will inspire members to back and campaign for their representative candidates, including those in local elections. In the 2019 elections, Fianna Fáil managed to secure an additional 12 seats, making it the party with the most seats at 279. Repeating this performance might be challenging this time, especially due to the fact that Sinn Féin, who lost 80 out of its 160 seats in 2019, is anticipated to more than recover its losses.