Dessie does it! O’Malley and the PDs taste famous 1987 election glory
Des O'Malley and Peader Clohessy after the general election of 1987
LIMERICK Leader reporter Jimmy Woulfe covers the general election of 1987 and a famous victory for the Progressive Democrats.
The political landscape of Limerick East has been redrawn by the Progressive Democrats.
Taking two of the five seats, Desmond O’Malley’s party captured the seat of Fine Gael stalwart Tom O’Donnell in one of the sensational results of Election ‘87. And Alderman Jim Kemmy reclaimed the Left seat in Limerick East, trouncing Labour outgoing candidate, Cllr Frank Prendergast.
A red-faced Fine Gael organisation had to wait until the 13th count to get its only seat in either Limerick constituency, when Minister Noonan was declared elected at 3.55am this Thursday. But Limerick East has been the crowning glory for Mr O’Malley, who will be accompanied into the 25th Dail by his constituency colleague Cllr Peadar Clohessy. And the reverberations over Fianna Fail’s disastrous performance were already ringing out this Thursday at the count centre, where outgoing Deputy Willie O’Dea took the solitary Fianna Fail seat. The chairman of Limerick County Council, Cllr Eddie Wade, who was excluded from the Fianna Fail ticket, made it clear at the count that his hat was in the ring for the Senate election, where he plans to contest the Labour panel. His absence from the party ticket is being cited as one of the main reasons for Mr Clohessy’s impressive tally of 6,069 first preference votes.
The total collapse of the Fianna Fail newcomers, Michael Parkes and Dr Richard O’Flaherty, has put the party back to square one in their local joust with the breakaways in the Progressive Democrats. Mrs Brigid Teefy, the PD director of elections in East Limerick, was being hailed by Mr O’Malley this Thursday and he saluted the performance of Cllr John McCoy in the West as one of the most significant performances of the entire election.
With the defeat of Mr. O’Donnell, the task of reviving the East Limerick Fine Gael organisation now falls to Michael Noonan, who was visibly relieved at getting the fifth and last seat on the final and 13th count this Thursday. Cllr. Frank Prendergast’s poor showing in the local elections continued, after a first count tally of 2201. The Left vote went emphatically to Alderman Kemmy, who came in from the cold after four years.
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