election 2016
‘Punters cannot get enough of Danny Healy-Rae’
Independent Danny Healy-Rae pictured on the canvass trail with his daughter Maura and Brendan Hartnett in Killarney on Tuesday. Picture: Don MacMonagle
Trump Could Learn From Healy-Raes US REPUBLICAN presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been urged to take a leaf out of the Healy-Rae book. The fame of the Kerry political dynasty has spread to America where the Irish Voice newspaper, read widely by the diaspora, has devoted column inches and website space on IrishCentral.com to the Healy-Rae phenomenon. Writer Cormac MacConnell, who has been penning a popular column in the New York-published paper for 25 years, says Trump could learn a lot from the Healy-Rae style of politics. Devoting a recent column to Donal Hickey’s new book, The HealyRaes – A Twenty-four Seven Political Legacy, he tells Irish-American readers they might think they have a very colourful and flamboyant character in Trump, but he doesn’t match the late Jackie Healy-Rae.
“Jackie Healy-Rae, born in poverty in hard times on a tiny Kerry mountain farm, beats Donald Trump into a cocked hat on every point of the scale,” writes MacConnell. “If Donald Trump wants some tips on how to captivate the grass roots of your states he should lay hands as quickly as possible on Donal
Hickey’s highly entertaining history of the dynasty. “Trump will pick up a lot of folklore and you will get a good belly laugh as you turn every richly rascally page.” Recounting Jackie’s 38-year political career, his days on Kerry County Council and Dáil Éireann, he says Trump “is only trotting after him”. And Trump might also do well to shun the suits and spin doctors in Washington, notes author Donal Hickey. “MacConnell says Jackie HealyRae’s rural sayings and style were the stuff of amusement for many of the slickly-suited young politicians of the era (when he was in the Dáil), but the reality was he achieved far more for his local people than any of them,” he added.
THINGS are looking positive for the Healy-Rae brothers’ hopes of winning two seats in the new five-seat constituency, as suggested by the latest odds from BoyleSports and a poll conducted for TG4. The Ipsos MRBI survey for for channel’s Seacht Lá programme shows Michael Healy-Rae with support of 33% – more than twice the quota. With his brother and fellow Independent Danny Healy-Rae on 4%, a vote-management strategy could result in both brothers taking a seat. And this evening bookmakers BoyleSports has seen one of the biggest political gambles so far in the Irish General Election as the odds of Kerry’s Danny Healy-Rae have been slashed into 1/7 from 13/8 overnight. Having initially been installed at 6/1 last week when it was announced that he would be running for a seat, Danny Healy-Rae is now 1/7 to win one of the available five seats following the latest poll From TG4 regarding Kerry. Liam Glynn, BoyleSports’ spokesperson said: “Punters cannot get enough of Danny Healy-Rae and following the latest TG4 poll, he now looks certain to win one of the five available seats as punters have backed him into 1/7 from 6/1 in just under a week.” According to BoyleSports data, Michael Healy-Rae’s odds are at 1/500.
Cost Of Childcare One Of Biggest Issues THE cost and availability of quality childcare is one of the biggest issues facing young families in Kerry, according to the constituency’s Renua Ireland candidate, Donal Corcoran. Mr Corcoran says the cost of childcare is equivalent to a second mortgage in some cases. The party is proposing tax relief for childcare and the establishment of community crèches.
Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin exchanges literature with Fergal Cleary of Killarney Musical Society while canvassing in Killarney on Thursday. Picture: Don MacMonagle
Renua Ireland candidate Donal Corcoran.
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Killarney Advertiser 19.02.16