A Tale Of Three Politicos

By Patrick Hurley

The 125th Anniversary celebration of the County Cork B. P. & P. Association of New York was held recently at the Terrace on the Park in Queens, N.Y. Politicos made the journey from Cork, "de" city by "de" Lee, to join in the celebrations.

Fianna Fail's Tony Fitzgerald and his wife, the fair Georgina, were in fine form. Mr. Fitzgerald represents Cork City's Northwest Ward on the City Council. The constituency includes Churchfield, Sunday's Well, Gurranabraher, Knocknaheeny, Holly Hill, Fair Hill, Farranferris, Shanakiel, etc. It's a district experiencing all the challenges of a modern urban environment - drugs, unemployment, vandalism, crime, etc. - which have been greatly exacerbated by the economic downturn in the former Celtic Tiger. Mr. Fitzgerald's commitment to the ward, of which he is a native, is legendary.

Since his teenage years, he's labored assiduously - through his involvement in youth, folk, sport, and other community groups - to improve the quality of life and economy of the district. Tony has always manifested a particular concern for the youth.

We first met Mr. Fitzgerald in 2005, when your humble scribe was president of the New York County Cork Association. In his then-capacity as deputy lord mayor of Cork City, Tony represented City Hall at our annual St. Patrick's Banquet. Most of us were there to party, but it was quite obvious that Tony was there to work. It was the year that Cork City was the European Capital of Culture. No sooner were the formalities of the evening over than Mr. Fitzgerald was down in the crowd promoting his native city. There wasn't a person in the room that he didn't canvass.

"Sure, Tony, that's the Ecuadorian waiter. He doesn't even know where Ireland is, not to mind Cork ... Ah, he might go there on his holidays."

A particular story is insightful as to Mr. Fitzgerald's heart-felt commitment to his constituents and, in particular, to the young people of the district. A year or two ago, a certain high-ranking official of the New York County Cork Association was home on vacation. Said official was accompanying Mr. Fitzgerald by car through the Northwest Ward, when the councilor observed youths vandalizing trees that the city had recently planted. When the deviants spotted Mr. Fitzgerald, they fled. Tony stopped the car and gave chase. However, the young perpetrators proved more fleet of foot and evaded capture. "I know who they are," spluttered an out-of-breath and flustered Fitzgerald. "They'll be no bus outing for them."

In the June 2009 local elections, as a testament to his reputation, Mr. Fitzgerald defied all odds by prevailing against the massive Fianna Fail backlash and being reelected. The message on the doorsteps was: "Tony you're a good guy but we want to send a message to Cowen and Lenihan." Such was the anger against the "Soldiers of Destiny" that some constituents even told him that if he went Independent, they would vote for him, but never for Fianna Fail. The situation did not augur well.

However, Mr. Fitzgerald nearly doubled his vote and knocked out a candidate from the popular Fine Gael Party to take the last seat in the newly downsized four-seater constituency. Tony might have done better and captured the third seat, if the Sinn Fein candidate's surplus vote had not been so distributed away from him in the intense anti-Fianna Fail sentiment. Such are the vagaries of the proportional representation electoral system.

So, when you feel despondent with Irish politicos, think of people like Tony Fitzgerald fighting in the trenches, and take heart!

The lord mayor of Cork City and his charming wife, Tanya, also appeared to be having a good time. Mayfield native, and Fine Gael man, Dara Murphy represents the Northeast Ward, which includes Mayfield, Montenotte, and Tivoli. Mr. Murphy studied economics in UCC and has his own catering business. He was first elected to the Council in 2004 and reelected in 2009. Dara was elected lord mayor in June 2009.

Mr. Murphy made the best speech of the night. "Powerful delivery," as one woman said. "You'd have no problem hearing him - microphone or no microphone - from up on the back of a lorry after Sunday Mass. If they do that sort of thing over there any more." The word is that Mr. Murphy has aspirations for a Dail seat. And, sure, why not? A vibrant, self-made, well educated, industrious businessman has a lot to offer in the leadership of his country.

"I have never seen Micheal looking so exhausted," said the Cork City woman of Micheal O Martin, the Irish foreign minister and the darling of Cork South Central. "Sure, he's only back from Sudan or someplace ... and then they have him over here as well," she continued. "It's all go go go for him. Meetings and more meetings.

You'd think they'd let him lie in on Saturday morning, but no! They have him up doing something else. Whoever made out that schedule should be shot! He might get a few hours with the family and he'll be back in Dublin on Monday, walking into whatever crisis that happens to be going on. It's all go, go, go."

Okay, okay, we get it! Those of us who routinely call in heavy artillery fire on high-ranking Irish politicos experience a major twinge of guilt. In fairness, politics is a 24/7 game. The battery of articles by brain-dead unimaginative hacks about politicians going off on "3 month vacations," etc., which routinely appear just before the Dail, or, indeed, Congress, goes into recess, are so ludicrous. One may not identify with their particular philosophies or ideologies, but the politicos work around the clock, whether in session or not. Indeed, the work most essential to their political viability is done back in the constituency. The idler would not last long in that contact sport.

It was good to see that Micheal managed to escape - temporarily at least - the Gold Fish Bowl in which the Iveagh House mandarins encapsulate visiting government ministers, lest said politicos encounter any unsavory characters a.k.a. independent-minded philosophers who refuse to toe Iveagh House's post-nationalist, Europhilic, left-wing line. Extricating himself from his suffocating entourage of handlers and minders, the Ballinlough boy was able to interact with typical Irish expatriates and Irish Americans. "Ah, sure, like, Micheal knows the craic, like, having been a minister two or three times already," explained our Cork City woman, "He is very, very much his own man, like." This was a noticeably different experience from those with other ministers. Who will forget Micheal's predecessor, Dermot Ahern, being frog-marched around from pillar to post by the mandarins? Like a ventriloquist's dummy with a mandarin moving his lips, and, as they say in West Cork, with the "sceoned" look on him.

Patrick Hurley blogs at: www.irish-american-news-opinion.blogspot.com