Chair rails against ‘spineless’ vote chasing

In Cavan-Monaghan, where Heather Humphreys’ local victory provided one of the few bright spots for Fine Gael in an otherwise bruising presidential election, constituency chairman Philip Kelly begins with the language of gratitude. “It’s a good day for us here in Cavan and Monaghan because we’ve done what we had to do,” he said, praising the former minister who he says is “probably the best” the two counties have ever had.

But it doesn't take long for his sense of relief to give way to exasperation, with Kelly admitting disappointment at the seeming lack of progress elsewhere.

A party loyalist of long standing, he has little patience left for what he called “reviews without resolve”.

“Our ordinary members are crying out for action,” he told the Celt. “We’ve had reviews, discussions, committees - all well and good - but if you can’t get at least half of what’s recommended actually done, then nothing changes.”

The frustration, he said, runs deep within the grassroots. There is fatigue too - not from the work of campaigning - but from watching ideas evaporate once they reach party HQ Dublin.

Kelly’s tone is more weary than dissident. “If we don’t start listening to our base, the people who’ve kept the party alive, we’re going to lose them,” he warned.

He has strong feelings too on the party’s current identity - aligned with Fianna Fáil. In this regard Mr Kelly is firm when advocating for a return to traditional values.

“We should go back to where we were years ago - not leaning left, but representing what our members have always stood for: rural Ireland, farmers, the working community.”

He concludes by dismissing the idea of chasing voting trends as “spineless”, adding that history had repeatedly proven the value of Fine Gael staying true to the party’s true ideals.