‘Given as much as I can give’

With the local elections just around the corner, attention is focusing on those standing and the new faces entering the fray.

But many are also talking about those councillors of long service that are not seeking election for another term this June. Among them is Cllr Ger Darcy, who brings to a close a family legacy of more than 50 years when he retires at the end of this term.

His father, Jim Darcy, was a councillor from 1967 to '85. Ger was elected to the old North Tipperary Co Council in 1991. He had been a member of the local Fine Gael party since the 1970s, having joined at the age of 16.

“It was so different to now because so many young people had an interest in politics,” the Ardcroney farmer recalled. Joining the council alongside the likes of Michael Lowry, John Ryan, Binki Hanafin, Tom Ryan and Noel Coonan (the last of whom he was elected with for the first time on the same day), Cllr Darcy often pauses to reflect on how different the work of a councillor is now compared to the early ‘90s.

“Everything was on paper. There were no mobile phones. There were no emails. Social media definitely was never heard tell of. So everything came in the letter box. When you were making a representation, you were making it to a person face-to-face, across from the table...

“The flow of information now is so hard to keep up with. I think one of the problems of today is the demands on councillors.

“When I was a councillor first, you only had a landline,” Cllr Darcy said, telling of how the phone would ring two or three times when he was having his dinner, as people would know he would be at home at that time.

“Nowadays, the mobile phone follows you everywhere you go and if that doesn't get you, social media will. So in terms of time, it's much more demanding now.”

COUNCILLOR ABUSE

Another obstacle Cllr Darcy sees for people entering local politics is payment for councillors, which, while a lot better than before, is not enough to sustain a family. “Therefore, it has become unattractive for young people and that's why they're shying away from it,” he said.

“Then you have all the abuse, which somebody needs to call a halt to. I'm hardened to it now but it is intimidating enough.”

This is a problem that he has seen intensify over the years, and while it is something that every councillor “signs up for”, he described the extent and nature of abuse as something “deeper” than ever went before.

The converse of that is the sense of reward that councillors get from helping people, and this is what Cllr Darcy believes people should be motivated by in taking on the role.

“The real kick you get is when you're trying to get something done or working for someone, and it comes off. I've always believed that if somebody comes to you with a problem, there's three people that should know about that: You, me and the official reviewing it,” he said, expressing the opinion that such matters should not be shared in the press or on social media. “When something like that works, you get a lift and that's what keeps you going.”

TIPP TOGETHER

The amalgamation of Tipperary's north and south local authorities in 2014 was the greatest of the many changes Cllr Darcy saw in his 33 years on the council. Having chaired the last term of North Tipperary Co Council, and now retiring as Cathaoirleach of the new Tipperary Co Council, he has a distinct hindsight of the reformed local government system and is not as quick to criticse it as many of his peers have done.

“In the beginning, I wasn't too keen on it,” Cllr Darcy said of the unified councils. “But I see that as we go forward - and especially having been in the chair for the last 12 months - there's things we can do as a county that we wouldn't have had a hope in hell of doing as the old North Tipperary.”

A key example of this is, he said, is tourism. Whereas before North and South Tipp were “at the tail end” of the Mid-West and South-East regions respectively, and losing out to other counties on funding and tourism promotion, this situation has vastly improved under the one-county standing. “There's a lot to be said for Tipp being together,” Cllr Darcy has found. “I've come around to that, because you're able to box with the best of them now.”

He made the point that there is a lot more funding for communities now that was not there when he started out, citing the likes of Leader, CLÁR and Sports Capital grants. He pointed to the millions invested in the town of Nenagh in recent years and said he is looking forward to seeing a great many more projects coming to fruition in the years ahead.

Cllr Darcy said he would not welcome a review of the local government system if it only means reinstating the old town councils. “It has to be for the area. It has to be for not just Nenagh but the Cloughjordans, the Borrisokanes, the Ballinas and Newports - the rural areas.

“There is one thing that I noticed when the town councils were done away with. Money become available for rural clubs and organisations, for events, Tidy Towns that we'd never, ever seen in rural Ireland before. It was spread much more evenly. So, if there is to be another look, it has to look at the whole area, not just the towns.”

FINE GAEL FUTURE

Obvious highlights of Cllr Darcy's political career include being elected on six successive occasions, but particularly in 1999 when a change in electoral area boundaries saw him lose around a third of his voter base from the previous outing. He is also proud of his two elections to the council chair, also that of the Regional Assembly in 2012, and with serving on the old North Tipperary VEC (now ETB).

Noel Coonan's winning of a Dáil seat for Fine Gael despite the odds in 2007 remains another highlight for Cllr Darcy to look back on.

Low points include the loss of party colleagues Willie Kennedy, a mentor for Ger when he first came on the council, and Noel's wife Pauline Coonan. Cllr Darcy also regards the failure of Fine Gael to run a north Tipp candidate in the last general election as an “awful mistake”. But he welcomes the arrival of new enthusiasm to bring the party forward at local level, and said the emergence of his parish neighbour Eleanor Maher as a candidate was a key factor in his own decision to step down.

“They have to reorganise now, that's for sure,” Cllr Darcy said of Fine Gael in Tipperary. “I think we have a very good candidate in Eleanor Maher. There was a bit of a surprise when she put her name forward but I was happy enough to leave once I knew Eleanor was available to run because I knew she would be good.”

Knowing her through her involvement in the Ardcroney and Carrigahorig group water schemes, the outgoing councillor spoke of Ms Maher having several years of experience of dealing with the council's water, planning and roads sections. He also spoke of her life experience of emigrating to the US with her husband Eddie in search of work before returning to build a house and raise a family, including one child with special needs. “She has a great understanding of a lot of the trials and tribulations of life in rural north Tipperary, and she uses all of that very well,” Cllr Darcy said of the candidate he hoped would succeed him as a councillor.

‘STAY IN TOUCH’

For the outgoing councillor, he finds that he no longer has the energy to balance the busy life of a dairy farmer with the similarly demanding duties of a public representative. He needs to focus on farming, and said he also looks forward to having more time for studying history and genealogy, and for attending matches.

“I think I've given as much as I can give,” Cllr Darcy said. He took the opportunity to thank everyone concerned for their support over the years, most especially his family - wife Noelle, daughters Linda and Eimear, and son Alan. He also thanked his sisters Bridget and Bernie, extended family and Noelle's family, and all the members of the Fine Gael party who supported him down through the years, as well as all the councillors and council officials he worked with over those years.

“Working together is what it's all about,” Cllr Darcy parted. “If there is one bit of advice I'd give the council going forward, it's that when you get a community group - it could be a graveyard committee, a Tidy Towns committee, a drainage committee or group water scheme or residents in an estate - anything like that, if you can harness the volunteerism and commitment that local people have in a group or organisation... that's where you'll make great success.

“It's awfully important that local authorities stay in touch with local communities, both rural and urban. That's my philosophy.”