Bailieborough Cootehill MD Candidate: Cllr Clifford Kelly (FF)

The Kingscourt man was elected for the first time in 1985. He narrowly lost out in 2014, but returned to the chamber in 2019 and served as cathaoirleach twice. He's also a longstanding member of CMETB and served on the board of Dundalk Institute for 32 years. Sadly Clifford's wife Betty passed away late last year, and he has five adult children with four living locally and a fifth in Chicago.

How do you unwind?

I like to visit my family and enjoy watching sport - any chance I get I go to the football matches. I was very much involved at national level in Community Games from it was founded up to my wife became ill, and I had to give it up, but it was something I loved.

Why should people vote for you?

I'm very approachable. People can come to me and tell me what their problems are in confidence. I work for the whole area I represent.

In my own town I have secured the purchase of the Bank of Ireland and the National Irish Bank and a major site for a carpark in the centre of the town. €14m will be spent in providing a new library in the National Irish Bank, the whole Market Square will be done up as well, and the Bank of Ireland will be a new state-of-the-art digital hub. The carpark will be right in the centre of town with 119 spaces.

From National Irish Bank up to Clarke's Corner all of the poles and cables will be taken down and the area will be modernised.

Within the next few weeks CMETB will be putting in for planning permission for an extension to Colaiste Dún an Rí that will be the same size as what's there at present, and that will cater for over 1,000 pupils. I fought for 43 years to get a second level school, the Department said we'd never sustain it.

What will you do to address housing supply?

A housing estate was going up in the town on the Carrickleck Road, and I went to chief Executive Eoin Doyle to meet with the contractor because housing is so important. I got them to do a deal and the council has bought 33 houses and they are being built at the minute. Eight are up already.

Again I went back to the chief executive and told him where there's the possibility of another 30 houses - I keep pushing away. Because in Kingscourt you can't get a bedroom at the present time.

Has Ireland taken in enough refugees?

We have been very welcoming to the Ukrainians, who are coming from a war-torn country. We have done very well for them.

But these International Protection people, we don't know where they are coming from, we don't know anything about them. The government has to come up with some way of checking exactly where they are coming from, and all about them. Up until now there doesn't seem to be any check and this is what has made people very angry - I have found it on the doors. And this is putting pressure on our hospitals, our education system and our doctors.

What's your main campaigning issue?

To continue the good work I have been doing.

In all of our towns in the Municipal District, housing is needed. There's 46 social houses being built in Bailieborough, there's some being built in Cootehill - it's to keep the pressure on the council to keep ahead of the problem, and get the minister to cut the red tape that's causing a lot of the delays.

Should the biodiversity/climate crises be top of the council agenda?

Biodiversity is very important but I'm not sure it needs to be at the top of the agenda - I've mentioned other issues that need to be at the top. The council will continue to work at it and we are getting a new biodiversity officer for the county.

Who in the political sphere has influenced you most?

I come from a mixed marriage because my father was very very strong Fianna Fáil, brought me to the first meeting for Fianna Fáil when I was 10 years old, to put up the posters and tables at the church gates for the collection. Whereas my mother was horrified. She came from a very strong Fine Gael background. The two of them never went to vote together - my mother's people were related to the late Dillon who was leader of Fine Gael at one time. She never changed her views, I never knew whether she voted for me!