FORMER councillor Enda Mulkere sought, and failed to secure, a Fianna Fail nomination to fight the last general election. Well known in his native Clare, he is regarded as a man who loves rural life and who has a passion for hurling.
When he got a job with the semi State promotional agency Shannon Development in the 1960s he was seen as one of the lucky ones, as a position with SFADCo then was a pensionable bob for life. It gave a person status and prestige to work for an organisation that was blazing new trails in industry and tourism.
Enda Mulkere moved from a county council clerk's desk to the construction and maintenance department of Shannon Development. It was a boom time in Shannon as a new town was under construction, and the Shannon industrial estate was also developing with multinationals setting up there.
The Raheen Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Limerick city was also attracting high quality industries such as Analog Devices and Howmedica. Shannon Development, moreover, was building industrial estates in the main towns in the mid west region. There was also a small industry drive and the establishment of the National Technological Park on the University of Limerick campus at Plassey. This meant ample contracts for houses, factory units, loads and landscaping.
It was an exciting time to work in Shannon Development and was viewed as an important figure amid all this development.
Staff at Shannon Development are reluctant to talk about their former work colleague, but he is regarded in his working life as he was on the hurling field no stylist but a tough and whole hearted player who gave everything for the team and was regarded as being very much at home in the rough and ready world of the construction industry.
Mulkere helped his native Crusheen to a Co Clare senior hurling final in 1970; it ended in defeat after a replay. He then became a key figure in his club and served on the Clare County Hurling Board as an official, as a Clare delegate to the GAA Central Council and as a county hurling selector.
He was protective about his private life, which was underlined when he insisted that the announcement of his engagement should not appear in Shannon Development's staff magazine.
While working with Shannon Development, he was involved in farming and in March 1979 he was convicted at Ennis District Court of tampering with cattle tags.
As a county councillor he made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a nomination on the Fianna Fail general election ticket in 1992. He declared that he would be seeking a nomination at the next general election, but party sources considered that he would be unsuccessful once again.