Tensions rise as Fianna Fáil members attend meetings

By Evelyn Cullen

FIANNA Fáil members across Donegal turned out in their droves last week to voice anger over the process that led to Jim Gavin’s selection as the party’s Presidential candidate, and the ensuing disastrous fallout that saw him withdraw from the race.

A number of meetings were held in different parts of Donegal with many party members voicing their discontent.

“There is real anger among members,” Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher, T.D. told the Donegal News yesterday.

“The purpose of the meetings was to give party members a chance to express their views on the matter and to ask important questions that must be answered.”

The five Comhairle Ceantair meetings, held across south and west Donegal in recent days, spanned three of the county’s five Municipal Districts, from the Donegal and Glenties districts to the Finn Valley, reflecting the widespread discontent at grassroots level.

A source said that a meeting of the Letterkenny Municipal District also took place in Letterkenny, where the anger among members was just as strong.

Among the clearest themes to emerge is a belief that the party leadership did not allow for sufficient time or fair opportunity for prospective candidates to be selected.

Many members believe the process was orchestrated from the top, with the decision to back Jim Gavin seen as being driven by party leader Micheál Martin and a small circle within headquarters.

That, according to several long-standing members, has fuelled resentment among the grassroots, who feel their voices were sidelined.

At the Comhairle Ceantair meetings, a committee of three representatives was selected, among them Sligo-Leitrim TD Éamonn Scanlon and Senator Margaret Murphy, who will now present a report to the Parliamentary Party.

Deputy Gallagher revealed that he has drafted no fewer than “20 pertinent questions” which will be submitted as part of the report.

He said that the meetings were not simply about voicing complaints but about ensuring the party’s democratic processes are upheld. “These are questions that must be answered by the party leadership. Our local members and councillors are the backbone of Fianna Fáil, their voices must be heard and respected”.