THE NEWS former Dublin North Central TD Ivor Callely had claimed over €80,000 in expenses because he was travelling from his holiday home in Kilcrohane, west Cork, to the Seanad provoked little response yesterday in the rural village.
The reluctance of locals in Kilcrohane, located near the end of the Sheep’s Head peninsula, to speak about Mr Callely was marked.
“I don’t know much about politics,” proffered one woman hastily before acknowledging that Mr Callely had been coming to Kilcrohane for a long time. But beyond that, she didn’t know him.
“We don’t know anything about that,” said another woman before hurrying off about her business.
Another reluctant interviewee explained that she didn’t work regularly in the village so she wouldn’t know if Mr Callely was often about.
It is not the first time Mr Callely’s holiday home has attracted controversy. In 2006, Cork County Council ruled that his conversion into a house of a 120sq m (1,300sq ft) garage next to the holiday home breached the planning laws.
An elderly gentleman in the village volunteered the information that he had sold the land to Mr Callely upon which he built his impressive holiday home. He went on to explain that the politician had been coming to Kilcrohane for “10 years and more”.
A woman walking on the Goat’s Path road was a little more forthcoming. “He’s down nearly every weekend – I saw him at Mass on Sunday. It’s bad alright, particularly in the current climate. I’m not defending him but how many more at it?”
Another local who was sympathetic to Mr Callely’s plight said: “He’s been coming here since he was a young fellow – wasn’t his mother from here? – that’s the connection.”
Asked for his name, the man replied: “Quote me? Are you serious? Don’t ye twist everything. Ye media are all the same.”