Limerick councillor considering tell-all book after 39 years in politics
VETERAN Fianna Fail councillor Kevin Sheahan has revealed he is considering writing a tell-all book from his 39 years in politics in Limerick.
And he warned: “I won't be taking any prisoners. I'll find it extremely difficult when I put pen to paper to resist telling all the truth”.
The Askeaton man, 77, retiring from council at the next local election, has often been at loggerheads with people in his own party - once even being involved in a breakaway from Fianna Fail.
In a wide-ranging interview this week, Cllr Sheahan said: “There will be some little stories I have which are interesting, and some of them might not suit some people to read them. That won't be revenge of any description. But things have happened. People have a right to know details of some if not all of what I know”.
Elsewhere, he has warned that he does not think there will be room for Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein in 20 years’ time.
With Sinn Fein leading in the polls, Cllr Sheahan says the party is "playing a very clever game".
“They have learnt from the old Fianna Fail. They are on the ground working with the people, and it works,” he said.
Asked if he feels Mary-Lou McDonald’s party has 'stolen Fianna Fail's clothes', he said: “No. We have lost them and they found them. It's not they are cleverer than us or anything. We got lazy and careless and we are paying the price for it”.
The outspoken councillor believes there has been “significant slippage” in Fianna Fail's grassroots activities in the county, since former Justice Minister Gerry Collins left government.
“We were doing far better even at council level when Gerry was in government. We were more active on the ground even. We had more local meetings, better and more regular communication with the ordinary people whom I swear by,” he said.
The former mayor believes the Collins family influence waned following Gerry's retirement - “and as time goes on, there will be more slippage”.
“I'm not going to name people, but there's evidence in recent years that their expectations were not realised by the general public,” he said. Cllr Sheahan declined to comment further.
But at the 2020 general election, there were three members of the Collins family on ballot papers across Limerick, with just one being returned to Dail Eireann - Gerry Collins's nephew Niall Collins.
Meanwhile, Cllr Sheahan - a former Special Branch garda - also said a "particular rump" of his own party colleagues "were finding it very hard to digest" his becoming the first Mayor of Limerick as a unified authority.
He had been part of a split alongside three colleagues, in a row over the distribution of roles, and secured the job after a deal which saw lots drawn.
He's revealed that once his own electoral area of Adare/Rathkeale came out the hat, the only other Fianna Fail councillor in the area, Richard O'Donoghue, now an Independent TD, pulled out of the race, insisting he wanted Cllr Sheahan to be given the job.
The Leader has verified this with Mr O'Donoghue, who admitted there was opposition.
Following his election as mayor, Cllr Sheahan said: "We are snacking, and drinking a glass of wine, there were four or five Fianna Fail councillors who will always remain nameless - I couldn't be bothered thinking of them. They were standing around individually like all belonging to them had died. They had faces down to their knees."
"I got less than a pleasant ride in the position from them throughout the year. That's all I say now - the rest is for my book," Cllr Sheahan concluded.