Read The Race for the Áras Online
Authors: Tom Reddy
The Race for the Áras (29 page)
On Thursday the 20th the
Irish Independent
led with an explosive story that would dominate the tone and content of future debates. The headlines read: âGallagher linked to secret
FF
fundraiser' and âBusiness friends paid â¬5,000 to dine with Cowen'. The paper's political editor, Fionnan Sheahan, reported that Gallagher
personally invited donors to attend a secret Fianna Fail corporate fundraiser for former Taoiseach Brian Cowen. Mr Gallagher contacted a number of his business friends to invite them to attend the dinner, where guests were asked to donate up to â¬5,000 to the party.
Mr Gallagher's claims to be an independent will be damaged by the revelations.
Later that day the
Evening Herald
trumpeted the first interview with the woman behind Seán Gallagher. âI want to have children in the Ãras', said the huge front-page headline, referring to an interview inside the paper with Gallagher's wife, Trish. The 37-year-old from Kanturk, Co. Cork, who has been dubbed Gallagher's âsecret weapon', was conditioned for the gruelling campaign trail as she travelled five days a week throughout Munster, living out of a suitcase, as a sales rep for Vichy Skincare. She was a former sports instructor, and one of two girls and five boys brought up on the family farm.
We would both love it if we were blessed with children. If it happened it would be great, no matter whereâat the Ãras or anywhere elseâit would be just wonderful to be parents and have children.
I think we definitely want to have more than one child. Maybe two. Maybe three.
Gallagher had been married before, but that marriage ended in 1999. Trish had been suggested to him as a possible date by a friend; he rang her twice to convince her to meet him; they did, and they âclicked' as soulmates, she said. âI think it was one of the first things that we both said to each other, that we had both found our soulmateâit was lovely,' she said.
The possible patter of tiny feet in Ãras an Uachtaráin would become the source of humour in the media as the reference was facetiously transferred to the diminutive candidate Michael D. Higgins.
The
Herald
's editorial that day put important things in perspective.
Show a bit of sympathy for the young girlsâand boysâgutted today over the news of the break up of Westlife. The massively successful band has provided the soundtrack to their teenage years. That's something that stays with a person forever. Parents and grandparents should think back to how they felt when their favourite, whether it was the Beatles or Take That, broke up.
The bookies Boylesports took a decision to pay out on the bets already placed on Higgins. âHe has it in the bag, despite it being an extremely close race,' said their spokesperson, Leon Blanche, who said that the pay-out would cost them â¬125,000.
This is possibly the most volatile market we've seen in years, with so many twists and turns. The majority of punters have stuck to their guns and backed Michael D. Higgins. We've paid out early before and are yet to get it wrong, so let's hope this prediction works in our favour once more.
They still quoted odds for punters, putting Higgins as favourite at 1 to 3, Gallagher as runner-up at 2 to 1, McGuinness at 25 to 1, Mitchell 40 to 1, Norris 66 to 1, Davis 100 to 1 and Dana at 250 to 1.
Paddy Power had also cut the odds on Higgins, making him favourite at 2 to 7, Gallagher 9 to 4 and McGuinness 25 to 1.
Gallagher meanwhile was answering questions about the Dundalk fundraiser. He told Michael Brennan of the
Irish Independent
that he was a âgrass-roots' member of Fianna Fáil and had not given any personal donation at the fund-raiser. He had not asked any of the guests for money. âNo, I didn't. I was asked if I would let local business people know that the event as on, which I did. But I collected no money.'
Meanwhile in Limerick, on the campaign trail with Mitchell, Enda Kenny popped in to the Ann Summers shop in Cruise's Street, having just canvassed Mass-goers at the city's Augustinian Church. The Fine Gael handler Vincent Gribbin did his best to divert the Taoiseach, but Mitchell led the way, followed by his wife and Kenny. A roar of approval went up from their supporters, including Kieran O'Donnell
TD
and the former
MEP
John Cushnahan. There was no-one in the shop except for one staff member, Debbie Cropper. Seán Curtin from Press 22 got a picture of a grinning Taoiseach in the shop, and afterwards Cropper said that they were the first politicians to canvass here and that she would give Mitchell her vote. âI've never seen a Taoiseach in a place like this before,' she said.
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The
Limerick Leader
published a brave questioning statement issued by Anne McCabe, widow of Detective-Garda Jerry McCabe, who was shot dead by the Provisional
IRA
during an armed robbery in 1996, saying that McGuinness met her husband's killer in an
IRA
safe house.
When Kevin Walsh, the ringleader of the Sinn Fein
IRA
volunteers convicted of killing my husband, Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, in Adare on June 7, 1996, was released from Castlerea Prison our family attempted to move on as best we could with our lives.
Since that morning when the last of the murderers was freed into the waiting arms of Sinn Fein
TD
Martin Ferris we have refrained from any public comment concerning the political affairs of the State my husband died defending from the terror gangs of the Provisional
IRA
.
Now we feel we must break that silence to raise our concerns about the course of the current presidential election campaign, and specifically address matters that have arisen in the public domain regarding the knowledge and activities of Martin McGuinness in relation to those who perpetrated the murder of my husband and those individuals the Garda Siochana are still seeking to interview about that cowardly crime. In doing so we wish to endorse the courageous interventions of the Kelly, Hand, Stack and Clerkin families who still like us seek to have all of the
IRA
murderers involved in the killing of their loved ones brought to justice.
We know that the Garda Siochana believe that Martin McGuinness visited Kevin Walsh while he was hiding in a safe house in County Cavan. For what purpose did Mr McGuinness meet the killer of Jerry McCabe? Why did he not prevail upon Mr Walsh to hand himself in? Why did he fail to alert the Garda Siochana about the whereabouts of the man who was at the top of the most wanted list in this Republic?
The gardai believe that Mr McGuinness was a senior member of the Provisional
IRA
's Army Council for many years. This sinister body he regards as the legitimate government of Ireland. This loyalty to a secret illegal army presumably was more important to Mr McGuinness than helping the Garda Siochana to solve a vicious murder. It is a loyalty that we believe is incompatible with the office of President of Ireland.
As a senior
IRA
man Mr McGuinness is aware that two members of the
IRA
are still being sought for the murder of Jerry McCabe. As David Kelly said last week in Athlone: âHe knows who the killers of Recruit Garda Gary Sheehan and Private Paddy Kelly are.' We believe he also knows the current whereabouts of Paul Damery, and Gerry Roche who have been on the wanted list by An Garda Siochana since June 1996.
Mr McGuinness and his colleagues in Sinn Fein organised a vigorous campaign for the early release of the prisoners who murdered Jerry McCabe and he stated that Detective Garda McCabe's killers were âentitled to their freedom.'
The Irish people are being asked to choose a head of state next week. A vote for Martin McGuinness is a vote for a man who refuses to assist the security forces of this Republic with its investigations into the most serious crimes committed against servants of the State. We don't believe this is an issue that can be ignored and brushed aside in the interests of âpeace'. We call on all other candidates seeking the office of president to demand from Mr McGuinness that he cooperate with the police into its ongoing inquiries into the terrorist crimes that claimed the lives of servants of this Republic.
This election is as much about the moral duties of those who seek high office as it is about their vision for the presidency and Ireland's future.
We want to move on and resume what passes for a normal life without a father and husband and brother. We can't move on if Mr McGuinness assumes he can aspire to the symbolic status of first citizen without first discharging the most basic responsibility of any citizen. If Martin McGuinness cannot or will not assist the authorities with its investigations into the murders of police officers, soldiers and prison officers how can we expect the rule of law to prevail under his Presidency?
This is a moment of truth for all of us.
Martin McGuinness owes every voter the truth and his opponents should unequivocally demand that he come clean. Otherwise we will have one law for members of Sinn Fein
IRA
and another law for the rest of us. In such a scenario, should Mr McGuinness prevail, the constitutional integrity of the democratic institutions of the state will be grievously undermined.
In Limerick, Enda Kenny said the McCabe family deserved to know the truth. He urged that if âany of the candidates or anybody else who wants to stand by the profession of democratic politics' knew anything about the whereabouts of Paul Damery or Gerry Roche (who fled the country after the attack) they should contact the GardaÃ.
Canvassing in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, McGuinness said there was not a âsmidgin' of truth in the charge that he met Kevin Walsh or knew the whereabouts of either Damery or Roche. Of Anne McCabe he said, âMy full sympathy goes to her. What happened to her and her family was totally unjustifiable, should never have happened. It was wrong and I unreservedly condemn it.'
On âLiveline' the infamous interview Norris had given to Helen Lucy Burke for
Magill
in 2002 was broadcast. Norris said he had been given only thirty minutes' notice that it was about to be broadcast, âeven though
RTE
had the tapes for some days, I believe,' and commented that he thought âthe timing is interesting.'
Norris had challenged Burke to produce the tape during the summer, saying that his quotations had been taken out of context.
Norris said there was nothing new in the tape, and, unlike the previous storm, the âLiveline' broadcast attracted little comment. Burke would subsequently say that she had found the tape recently but released it only in the last days of the campaign for âimpact ⦠It would give people something to think about when they went to the polls. It might incite people to vote for Norris or against Norris.'
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Mary Davis had returned to canvas her home county of Mayo and visited a local radio station before calling to Maureen Walsh's in Kiltimagh for tea and scones. Maureen had an oil painting of her son Louis in the living-room and a picture of Simon Cowell and the rest of the â
X
Factor' team on the kitchen dresser. Then it was on to her old school in Kinaffe, where the children assembled to sing âThe Green and Red of Mayo' for her.
Saturday's
Irish Independent
again featured Gallagher on the front page, reporting more of his financial affairs, stating that he shared in a payment of â¬860,000, made up of salaries, rent owed and royalties. The Smarthomes payment was made as the company was losing money at the height of the property crash. Siobhán Creaton and Cormac McQuinn reported seeing records that showed that Smarthomes benefited from grants from state agencies totalling â¬830,000. A spokesperson for Smarthomes commented:
The remuneration at the time for the directors was in line with the level of business the company was carrying out. The rent payable went to pay a mortgage on the building and was in line with rents in Co. Louth. The patents payable are in line with legal advice.
Inside the paper there was another picture of Kenny and Mitchell on the canvass trail. Having visited a sex shop, this time he was in the lingerie department of Debenham's in Patrick Street, Cork. Ralph Riegel reported:
The sight of basques, suspenders and frilly knickers brought the entire
FG
entourage to an embarrassed haltâbefore a quick
U
-turn saw Mr Kenny, one
MEP
, two
TD
s, assembled councillors and bemused Young
FG
members rushed back to the safety of the perfume department.
In its final edition before the election the
Sunday Business Post
's editorial said that next time we need a better campaign, and it called for reform of the nomination process.
One by one the candidates have been subjected to intense and unmerciful scrutiny by the media; one by one they have wilted under it. Some have been crushed by it. It has often been very harsh, but it has been necessary. This is what a campaign is: a searching job interview conducted largely by the media on the voters' behalf. Some people no doubt believe that the media scrutiny has been unfair and rather rough. All the candidates clearly believe this. But do voters really believe that they would be better served if facts about the candidates were kept hidden from them? We think not.
By Monday the 24th, with the polls to open on Thursday the 27th, the race for the Ãras was a foregone conclusion according to four opinion polls published within twenty-four hours, confirming that Gallagher held a double-digit lead over Higgins. The
REDC
/
Sunday Business Post
poll showed Gallagher on 40 per cent to Higgins's 26 per cent. The Behaviour and Attitudes/
Sunday Times
poll put Gallagher on 38 per cent and Higgins on 26 per cent. The
Sunday Independent
/Quantum Research poll showed Gallagher at 41 per cent (up 20 per cent in a week) and Higgins at 31 per cent, a drop of five points yet still far ahead of his nearest rival, McGuinness, at 10 per cent. Other candidates failed to break into double digits.