In Marc MacSharry’s own Sligo-Leitrim constituency, many party activists were blindsided by the news of his resignation from Fianna Fáil, according to local sources.
A divide among those who spoke to the Irish Times emerged between those who believe the TD has become a “loose cannon” and those who view him as a hardworking politician who is the party’s best chance of keeping a seat in the northwest constituency.
Despite the public nature of the deputy’s deteriorating relationship with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, there was widespread shock in Sligo at Wednesday’s development.
One local Fianna Fáil elected representative said: “I did not see it coming. It had to have been a hard decision for him personally. He has been there a long time. I know he can go on the rampage sometimes but he is a very capable guy.”
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Meanwhile, a long-time party activist who has canvassed for Deputy MacSharry in general election campaigns said he was “greatly relieved” that a politician he now regards as a “loose cannon” was quitting the party. “It was unforgivable the way he got stuck into [former chief medical officer] Tony Holohan at an Oireachtas meeting and left half way though the meeting,” he said.
The one-time supporter said he felt some sympathy for the TD, who has faced constant comparisons to his father, former Minister for Finance Ray MacSharry. “But he has not got the same bedside manner as his Dad,” he said.
“The last time round we marketed him as someone who was in line for half a car,” he said, referring to the expectation that Deputy MacSharry would be appointed as a Minister of State. “There is no way he will get a ministry now.”
But Seamus Kilgannon, a former Fianna Fáil county councillor and former member of the party’s national executive, said he was “shocked and disappointed” when he woke up to the news yesterday morning.
“There was no indication that this was coming,” said Mr Kilgannon. He said he was hoping it was “a storm in a tea cup” and that Mr MacSharry would return to the party and be its candidate in the next election.
The former councillor echoed the view of many callers to the local Ocean FM radio station who said that the row over allegations of bullying should have been dealt with locally.
“I was delighted that Marc was making his way back to the party when this hiccup came along”, said Mr Kilgannon. Asked whether he expected Mr MacSharry to run as an independent candidate in the next election, Mr Kilgannon said: “I will not even go there.”
Describing the resignation as “a setback for us activists on the ground in Sligo”, he hoped a party meeting would be called soon and a “clear message” would be sent to headquarters that Deputy MacSharry should be back in the party and in the parliamentary party.
The implications for Fianna Fáil in the constituency were a big talking point in Sligo where, according to Ocean FM CEO and presenter Niall Delaney, many callers expressed the view that “Fianna Fáil has shot itself in the foot locally”.
He said there were three key messages when the huge volume of calls and texts to the station were examined: the difficulty for Fianna Fáil of finding a satisfactory replacement for the next election, the view that the bullying allegations against Deputy MacSharry should have been dealt with locally, and admiration among even the TD’s critics, for a man “not being afraid to speak his mind”.
A local party source agreed that the differences between Sligo county councillor Donal Gilroy and Deputy MacSharry should have been “nipped in the bud because no matter what happens now the organisation is split in the constituency”.
The divisions in the party locally were underlined at a recent meeting in Sligo where two candidates were competing for the position of constituency delegate, regarded as a link between headquarters and the party on the ground.
According to a source, the meeting was attended by several members of the MacSharry family whose preferred candidate was narrowly defeated by a margin of six votes, with around 130 people voting on the night.
Asked if there was a way back to Fianna Fáil for Deputy MacSharry, one senior party source said: “There is always a way back. But if a new candidate emerges in the constituency and makes good headway, that way back will melt like snow in the sun.”
