Labour's Alan Kelly launches Tipp general election campaign in packed Nenagh hotel

Labour leader Ivana Bacik came to Nenagh with a clear message for the people of North Tipperary – Labour aim to win enough seats to be in government and Deputy Alan Kelly will be a key component of that government. 

Speaking at Friday night’s Labour Party selection convention for North Tipperary in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh, the Labour party leader left the constituency in no doubt but that Deputy Kelly will have a big say in the next government. 

A very large crowd packed into the hotel ballroom to hear from a range of speakers from across the constituency, county and beyond as they declared their support for Deputy Kelly as he bids for re-election, with the promise of being a senior minister in the next government. 

Attendees and speakers on the night included multi-award-winning author Donal Ryan, to Tipperary hurler Mikey Breen, medical card campaigner John Wall, pension equality campaigner Johnny O’Meara, businessman Liam O’Shea, Tipperary rugby legend and commentator Alan Quinlan and Olympian Sharlene Mawdsley. 

Pride of place was reserved for Deputy Kelly’s mother Nan, his wife Regina, daughter Aoibhe and son Senan. His father Tom, however, missed his son’s selection convention for the first time due to ill health. 

The Labour party leader, however, took centre stage when it came to addresses on the night. Speaking at the event, she talked about how Deputy Kelly’s unique experience as the only Labour candidate who has served as a senior minister in government already will be essential in helping navigate government formation talks, which she expects Labour to be involved in. 

“We are thrilled to have Alan Kelly running again in Tipperary North for Labour. He’s been such a champion, such an advocate for his own home town of Nenagh, surrounding areas. 

“He’s been so passionate as an advocate for healthcare around the mid-west, for victims of cancer, his work with the late Vicky Phelan, his work on autism campaigns and so much more. Alan has been an absolutely formidable campaigner and we’re so proud of him and so delighted he’s on the ticket for Tipperary North.”

As for Labour’s and Deputy Kelly’s potential involvement in the next government, she left constituents in no doubt. 

“We are looking ahead to a really strong campaign for Labour. We are very serious about delivering change, to do that we need to be in government. 

“We’re serious about putting forward our policies for the next programme for government and clearly Alan is a vital member of our parliamentary team going into the election and indeed he’s the only TD running for election who’s had senior cabinet experience. We need that experience and we value it immensely.

“Alan and I have had many conversations about the election campaign, about how we can best get our policies into practice, to help support the communities we represent.”

Pictured at Alan Kelly’s General Election campaign launch night were (l to r) Cllr Louise Morgan Walsh, Mikey Breen Tipperary Hurler, Alan Quinlan Munster and Ireland rugby legend, Ivana Bacik, Labour leader, Alan Kelly TD, Sharlene Mawdsley, Olympic sprinter and world champion, John Wall Cancer campaigner, Johnny O’Meara pension equality campaigner, Donal Ryan, award winning author, Cllr Michael “Chicken” Brennan and Cllr Fiona Bonfield.

Deputy Kelly was himself unequivocal as to what is motivating him to run again. “I’ve had many conversations with Ivana about this. The economy has delivered record surpluses but it’s not being put to work in the way it should be. It’s not addressing health, housing, policing of urban and rural communities, childcare, elderly care, climate change in the way it should. I want to be in government to address that. 

“The current government is like someone who’s just won the lotto and is throwing money around like confetti at a wild party instead of saying, right, how do I spend this properly. How do look after those who need me; my family, friends, neighbours who need support. Labour is different in that regard. 

“We stand for a fairer distribution of wealth, so that everyone who deserves to be looked after, is looked after,” he said.

“At a local level here in North Tipperary, that means getting healthcare, getting our hospital here in Nenagh fully supported and clearing up the mess that is UHL. It means getting a proper childcare system in place so people can go to work. It means getting proper autism services in place because there’s such a dreadful shortage of supports there. 

“It means getting proper elderly care in place so that people who reach the autumn years of their lives don’t have to worry about what’s ahead of them like they do today. It means making housing affordable. It means getting proper climate action policies in place not ones that are about stopping people, particularly rural communities, making a living. It means also addressing massive policing shortages so that people feel secure and safe in their communities. 

“I’ve shown in really difficult times in government and since in opposition what I can do for the people of North Tipperary and beyond. My record stands for itself whether it’s delivering jobs like Fiserv or Lunch Bag or infrastructure like the Ballina/Killaloe bridge or schools or healthcare facilities across the constituency. 

“So, I’m hugely excited about the possibilities of what I can do for my constituency and the people of North Tipperary in the times we are in.  We just have to be fairer, across the entire country, not just Dublin and the larger urban bases.”

For many, it was a night that was more about an opportunity for Tipperary than it was for the Labour party, perhaps best reflected by Cloughjordan based businessman Liam ‘Billy’ O’Shea.  “I’m not here because of politics, I’m here because of Tipperary. I’m not even interested in politics, I’m interested in who gets things done for my county and over the years, when in government or opposition, I’ve not known anyone to fight for my county like Alan Kelly does. 

“As I said, I’m not a close watcher of politics but everything we’re hearing is that there’s a really strong chance that Labour will be in the next government and if they are Alan Kelly will be in it. I know what that will mean for Tipperary as I saw what he did in difficult times.  We just have to make sure he’s there to take advantage for Tipperary.”

Hurler Mikey Breen, from Ballina, had a similar perspective. “We’ve a bridge and ring road being finished in Ballina-Killaloe that is going to be a game-changer for the area. Alan Kelly delivered that bridge. We’ve got a second field at our GAA club also because of him. 

“The secondary school at St. Anne’s is now a state-of-the-art school because of what he did. The great thing is that he’s as hungry as ever to do it all over again so that’s good news for this area, particularly if he finds himself in government.”

Medical card reform campaigner John Wall, whose successful campaign led to medical cards being granted for all diagnosed with a terminal illness, said he simply could not have achieved what he did without the support of Deputy Kelly. 

“Several years ago, when I started my campaign for medical-card reform, Alan reached out to me and without Alan I would not have got it across the line. It took us two or three years,but Alan was my voice inside Dáil Éireann. He never gave up. He believed in me and believed in what I was trying to achieve and quite simply without him, it wouldn’t have happened. 

“Alan has been for many years, the patient voice in Dáil Éireann. He’s raised issues that others perhaps shied away from but Alan believed in the issues, he believed in the people and without him a lot of things would simply not have come to fruition.”

Johnny O’Meara  from Toomevara, who won a Supreme Court case for widows pension for people who are net married was one of many individuals giving their personal testimony as to how Deputy Kelly helped change their lives. 

“What Alan has done since he started his career to the present date and what he’s still doing is amazing. My own personal experience is if Alan says he’s going to help you, he means it and he will see it through. What he did for me and our family, it changed our lives. 

“If I hadn’t Alan behind me, I would not have been able to do what I done. There were times when I had cold feet but Alan just said, go for it John, I’ll stay with you all the way.”

Alan Quinlan said he had never endorsed a politician in his life but had come to know Alan Kelky through his help for individuals in difficult situations. 

He said “Alan is a person of conviction. What he says he means. He helped people I was trying to help and that’s how I know him so well. When he says he’ll do something he does it and he’ll stay with you along the journey. He’ll take calls at all hours of the day and night in order to help you out. He’s resilient and brilliant at what he does”.

The author Donal Ryan said he admired Alan for all the work he does locally and nationally.

He said “I’ve know Alan a long time. We were in school together. He’s helped out many people I know and always does it under the radar. He has the trust and respect of everyone that knows him and he represents all that’s good and decent about rural Ireland”.