On the campaing trail with the youngest and oldest candidates

Seasoned wisdom or youthful enthusiasm?

To gauge which voters value the most, we obeserved two candidates in this area on the canvass, as the race for seats on Westmeath County Council enters its final week.

Some 43 years separate Cllr Mick Dollard and Niall Gaffney, the oldest and youngest candidates seeking election in the Mullingar-Kinnegad Municipal District.

On the one hand, Mr Gaffney, a 27-year-old barrister in Delvin hoping to return a seat for Fianna Fáil, thinks his “fresh eyes” give him an advantage above the rest.

On the other, Cllr Dollard, a 70-year-old independent politician in Mullingar thinks his 40 years’ experience in the game means he’s “running a different campaign to everyone else”.

Campaigning in Dalton Park last Thursday, the veteran councillor said it’s an area he has fond memories of from his youth.

“I grew up in Springfield Cottages, the best street you could ever live in, unrivalled community spirit and nobody locked their doors at night,” he says.

“It was very working class, and we would have been represented by Jimmy Bennett in those days; he introduced me to politics and co-opted me to the Town Commissioners in 1984.”

Cllr Dollard topped the poll in the local elections that were held just nine months later and has retained his seat since.

Dalton Park, an estate that allocated him over 250 votes in 2019, has been a stronghold for him through the decades and he was warmly received at the doors.

At one house, a former army colleague of the councillor, Martin Charles, said his presence in the area is unmatched by any other representative.

“I’m 50 years living here, and he is the only politician I see here in Dalton Park, that is until the elections come around, and they’re all down here,” he said.

“I could see him going into a house across the road and let a roar: ‘Mick can I see you for a minute?’

“I might only need help with a tax form or something personal, but he doesn’t mind, and he comes into the kitchen, and we go through it then.

“The worst part of it is, if you ring him at 10 at night with a problem, he’s here at 8 o’clock the next morning when I’m getting up!”

Housing was a predominant issue up at doors, an issue Cllr Dollard said has dragged on long enough.

“It’s a huge issue and it’s all types of housing, not just social housing, but people who are working and looking to buy their own homes but can’t afford it,” he said.

“There’s a deficit, simply put, there’s over-demand, under-supply and huge frustration out there – An Bord Pleanála also hold blame for refusing so many developments.

“Another thing people constantly come to me for help with is forms, they’re getting more and more complicated and, as a public representative, I’ve no problem with helping people deal with legislation.”

Cllr Dollard hopes his experience will stand to him on June 7.

“I’m running a different campaign to everyone else altogether; if you’re not in the heads or hearts of people, forget about it," he said.

“My campaign started in 1985, going for my first term, I’m out here every day since and I don’t just turn up at election time. It won’t be my last campaign either, I’ve got plenty of energy left in me to go again.”

In Delvin last Friday, Niall Gaffney met locals on the main street in his bid to become the town’s first elected representative in 20 years.

His roots run deep in the village, where he lives with his partner, as his family runs Gaffney’s Bar and a local undertaker business, establishments that have been operating in Delvin for a century.

Niall said he understands the challenges young people are experiencing there on a daily basis.

“I’m coming at this with plenty of energy, a fresh look, and youth is very tied to my position,” he said.

“I don’t own my own house, and that is a problem that I regularly hear of with my friends and other young people, as well as things like the cost of childcare.”

The former Ógra Fianna Fáil president, who will be turning 28 on voting day this Friday, decided to enter politics “for the love of it”.

“I work with Senator Aidan Davitt as his administrative assistant and I really enjoy it,” he said.

“I’m also running my own barrister practice and cover courts in Mullingar, Longford, Tullamore and Dublin.

“With the barrister work, you’re arguing on the law as it is, which is really exciting, and then politics is almost like the inverse of that because you’re looking at the law and how to change it.”

Delvin local Georgina McMahon told Niall on last week’s canvass that she was worried about anti-immigration candidates running in the area.

“It’s terrifying; we’ve seen it in the UK, America and now here,” she said. “My son is black so I’m very worried about my son.

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of people who are being racist to him who wouldn’t have been a couple of years ago.”

Niall said immigration is an issue that’s popping up in his area, which also covers Clonmellon and Raharney, but other issues are coming up more frequently.

“On a one-on-one basis, people often ask about delays with assessments, filling out forms and things like that,” he said.

“People talk about housing too; the big thing is that they often don’t know about the grants and supports available to them, and I can help with that.

“Dereliction in Delvin is a huge problem, you’ll see it everywhere, and it’s a big thing at the doors – people want help with the [likes of the] Croí Cónaithe scheme, a dereliction grant of up to €50,000 you can get.

“People want to get on the scheme, they just don’t know how, but I’ve started helping them and talking through the process.”

In nearby Clonmellon, dereliction was also noted as a big problem by locals as well as a lack of social hubs as the pub, Isaac’s Well, closed in recent years.