Sir, – Further to your recent letters about the fortunes of so-called celebrity candidates in Irish elections (“Elections and ‘celebrity’ candidates”, Letters, June 15th), your readers may be interested to know that it is not today nor yesterday that such candidates were first visited upon Irish voters. It happened in Donegal almost 90 years ago.
During the 1930s, Fine Gael persuaded one of the most popular GAA footballers of his generation to accept their nomination for the 1937 general election. (Daniel) John O’Donnell (1910-1954) was very much at the top of his game throughout the decade.
He won two Sigerson Cups with UCD in the early 1930s. His club, Dungloe, dominated Donegal football for most of that decade, winning the county finals of 1930, 1931, 1933, 1936, and finishing as runners-up in 1932 and 1934.
In 1937 John O’Donnell was beaten by Cormac Breslin (FF) for the third and final seat in Donegal West: Breslin, 23.3 per cent; O’Donnell, 21.1 3 per cent. His sporting celebrity helped him achieve a respectable result in a constituency dominated by Fianna Fáil.
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For the fortunate Cormac Breslin (1902-1978), his 1937 election success marked the beginning of a 40-year career in Dáil Éireann, with most of those years as leas-cheann comhairle or ceann comhairle.
I wonder if this is the earliest known Irish example of party-political predilection for nominating already popular household names to court the popular vote. – Yours, etc,
PÁDRAIC HARVEY,
An Cheathrú Rua,
Co na Gaillimhe.
Sir, – If a celebrity becomes a politician, are they still considered “the talent”? – Yours, etc,
LEO LAWLER,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
