Two outsiders in the Donegal South West race are gearing up to contest the next general election, writes MICHAEL O'REGANin Donegal
THE TWO Independents running in the Donegal South West byelection intend contesting the next general election.
Thomas Pringle and Ann Sweeney are obvious byelection outsiders, and they are adamant that this will not be their last attempt to secure a Dáil seat.
Mr Pringle boasts that he is the longest-serving politician among the candidates.
“I was first elected to Donegal County Council in 1999, and I have been representing the people since.” He was a member of Sinn Féin from 2004 to 2007, but he left because of local rows and the manner in which “the party was mad to get into power” after the last election. He describes himself as a “socialist republican, firmly on the left”.
He represents the Donegal electoral area on the council and lives in Killybegs, where he has a constituency office financed by his allowance as a councillor.
He works in the water services division of the council and campaigns in the evenings and on weekends because he had no holidays left to take when the byelection was called.
Like the other candidates, he took time off campaigning yesterday to travel to Dublin for last night’s RTÉ television Frontline programme.
He had a busy schedule at the weekend, where his campaign stops included Drumrooske, a neat council estate on the outskirts of Donegal town.
Clearly well known, he received a warm reception.
The issue on the doorsteps was local: a sewage odour which prompted residents to hold a public meeting last night.
Mr Pringle apologised for not being able to make the meeting, explaining his RTÉ commitment. But he made it clear to a local man that he would be in touch to hear what went on.
The atmosphere was pleasant and there was no evidence of anger towards politicians. One of his canvassers recalled a woman waving an umbrella at them some days earlier, thinking they were Fianna Fáil supporters.
Mr Pringle said some householders in Donegal South West would not open their doors to any canvassers, irrespective of who they were.
Ms Sweeney, who runs the Carrig Rua hotel in Dunfanaghy, decided to run in the byelection when she saw the candidates representing the political parties discuss issues on Vincent Browne’s TV3 programme.
“I thought here was more of the same, and I decided to have a go. We can all sit about giving out about the state of the country and do nothing.” She hopes to expand her New Island party with like-minded Independents, who, she said, “are much harder to corrupt”.
Given that she has no organisation, her campaign is confined to the internet and local media interviews. Her website has featured videos criticising the smoking ban in pubs, and calling for a domestic property tax.
Ireland, she said, needed only one national bank, adding that the bailing out of bankers with taxpayers’ money was obscene.
A community activist, she was a member of Fianna Fáil for two years. She said she left the party “in disgust” three years ago because it appeared to be run by “a small Dublin think tank”.
Ms Sweeney showed her business acumen when she ran an alcohol-free bar in her hotel in 2008 to attract customers and save the jobs of her employees.
Alcohol was seized after a complication over the transfer of the licence from the previous owner. The courts eventually ruled in her favour.
She runs a market in her hotel where local traders can sell arts, crafts and other material. It concludes with a raffle for a pig.