‘I’ve won battles and lost battles here’

“A lot of people came here tonight to present themselves. This is not a democracy."

Those were the words of Independent Cllr Albert Deasy watching his colleagues silently pass him by to the exit door. A similar reaction came from Independent Ireland Cllr Noel O’Flynn, who called the vote "a stitch-up".

A special meeting of Cork City Council on Monday evening lasted less than 10 minutes. Councillors were expected to nominate a candidate for the upcoming presidential election, but they chose not to.

Members from the Green Party, Social Democrats, Labour, Independent Ireland, Worker’s Party, and Independent councillors voted in favour of nominating a candidate, but their 10 votes were not enough. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin voted against the nomination, totalling 15 votes. There were two abstentions - Lord Mayor Cllr Fergal Dennehy, and People Before Profit–Solidarity’s Brian McCarthy.

Before the vote, a behind-closed-doors meeting allowed seven of the ten listed candidates, who were in attendance, to give short presentations. Among them was former lord mayor of Cork, Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Cllr McCarthy said he was “disappointed, but not surprised, by the ongoing vote blocking by the larger political parties.”

“I respect my colleagues because I’ve been working with many of them for years. I have won battles here and I’ve lost battles here. I’ve lost this one,” he said.

“Just something about being on home turf, I suppose. Because I know the DNA of my fellow colleagues, and I’m one of these — I run with them, I run with the wolves.”

“I’m still proud to be a member of Cork City Council. I’m also proud that they actually ran this special meeting, because there are local authorities in Ireland that are not running this special meeting.”

Cllr McCarthy admitted he had anticipated uncertainty from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, but was surprised by Sinn Féin’s late move.

“I didn’t know what Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael would want to do, but I didn’t expect the Sinn Féin element. I didn’t see Sinn Féin’s stance earlier today, they didn’t really have one. And then it seems that somewhere in the afternoon or evening, their national headquarters sent down a stance — clearly, not to back a candidate.”

Reflecting on past elections, he said there used to be greater openness for independent candidates.

“In the past, like seven years ago, there was a lot more openness to letting candidates through. There were a number of candidates who managed to get the four golden tickets from the four local authorities, and they went through to the ballot paper.”

Cllr McCarthy also pointed out flaws in the process, shaped by political control and geographical constraints. He praised the opportunity for candidates to have their “five minutes of glory” delivering presentations, calling it “a fantastic act of democracy.”

He noted that the process allows Irish citizens over 35 a real chance to feed in ideas, while the main candidates on the ballot have remained silent.

“This five-minute pitch is a fantastic act of democracy — it’s the only show in town for hearing people’s ideas, while the main candidates stay silent.”

Cllr McCarthy remains hopeful about his chances at other councils across the country, where he hopes to have better luck. Cork County Council will consider the matter at a meeting next Monday.

“There are more local authorities. I mean, there’s, for me, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Cork County Council coming up — there’s other rolls of the dice.”

Following the meeting, another former lord mayor of Cork, Green Party/Comhaontas Glas Cllr Dan Boyle, commented on social media: “Among those presenting was council colleague Kieran McCarthy, my predecessor as Lord Mayor of Cork, a role he performed with distinction. He gave an excellent presentation to a prior closed meeting of the council, the best of whom presented. He deserved the council's support.”

Other candidates who were also given the opportunity to address the meeting for five minutes behind closed doors included William P. Allen, Charlie Keddy, Charlotte Keenan, Dr Donncha MacGabhann, PhD, Walter Ryan-Purcell, and Gerben Uunk.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.