Mary O'Rourke: The undoing of a matron

Mary O'Rourke wants to return to the Dáil and perhaps ministerial office. First she'll have to see off the Boxer, the show-band man and possibly even Albert Reynolds' son. Mary Regan reports

Bertie Ahern leaned over to give Mary O'Rourke a kiss on the cheek. He hesitated, then kissed. He had just "opened" her constituency office. Donie Cassidy, who had dislodged Mary O'Rourke from her Dáil seat in 2002, was standing awkwardly against a wall, bereft of best wishes for his constituency colleague. Another colleague, Councillor Kevin "Boxer" Moran did not even make it into the new offices. He was outside in the cold, but probably not for long.

Mary O'Rourke had felt no need during her 21 years in politics to have a constituency office opened before.

Bertie Ahern peered at photographs on the walls of the new offices. Photos of Charles Haughey, of Mary O'Rourke's late brother, Brian Lenihan (Haughey's supposed one-time best friend), and of Mary O'Rourke herself in her ministerial days.

"I'll be back here in 20 months time, and I want to see us with two TDs in this constituency," said Bertie. Perhaps not a forlorn hope, because Fianna Fáil did well here in the 2002 local elections (winning four of seven council seats in Athlone), unlike its performance in the rest of the country.

"So many friends, so many supporters...", O'Rourke murmured about the group that had gathered in the small office. But perhaps not enough friends and not enough supporters for her to regain the Dáil seat she lost three years ago.

They are saying at party headquarters that the Westmeath selection convention will be asked to nominate just one candidate for the next election and they (headquarters) will name the second. They want to ensure both the Mullingar and Athlone ends of the constituency are represented. It means Mary O'Rourke will have to defeat not just her usurper, Mullingar-based Donie Cassidy, but the wanna-be, "Boxer" Moran, from her own base in Athlone. "Boxer" is a young councillor and a young taxi-driver.

"I was done and I want to be undone," says Mary O'Rourke. She believes she was "done" by party headquarters the last time by the division of the constituency that gave 70 per cent to Donie Cassidy, the show-band manager. She is not kind to her party colleague. She told the local press he didn't exactly kill himself with constituency work and she complains about his "obstruction" of the selection convention.

She may be missing the point. Some locally think the 215 convention delegates are unlikely to select her, preferring instead "Boxer" and then party headquarters will nominate the show-band man.

A local councillor says Mary O'Rourke arouses "huge animosity" in the area. "It's her arrogance to the councillors (and it) has not done her any favours, and it's the same arrogance that lost Athlone a TD in the last election". He adds: "I've seen councillors walk out of her house close to tears". They also question her electoral appeal (she "lost nearly 700 votes in the Athlone area last time") and then there is "Mary is not far off 70" (born 31 May 1937). And then there is Boxer.

Two months ago Boxer opened his own constituency office about half a mile down the road, just beside the bridge over the Shannon, connecting both sides of the town. Bertie couldn't make it to Boxer's opening, but the party faithful did.

"It looks like Donie is in (ie certain of a nomination)," says Boxer, "so the real contest is between me and Mary O'Rourke". He says: "We need new blood in Athlone politics. People around here know that we need change and that's why I've thrown my hat in."

But is Boxer "Dáil material"? Some colleagues are doubtful. "Boxer will need to top the (election convention) poll if he is to stand a chance, as headquarters would not put him on the ticket ahead of O'Rourke."

But even if she sees off Boxer and even if she gets the message through that the show-band man has been lax in the constituency-service business, it may not be enough. For there may be an even more aggravating challenger: the son of Albert Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, who lives in Mullingar.

Albert fired Mary O'Rourke from the cabinet when he became Taoiseach in February 1992. She challenged him straight out in his office when he broke the news to her. She was the only one of the fired ministers to challenge Albert Reynolds and ask why she was being dropped (Gerry Collins and Ray Burke were among the others fired). He relented and made her a junior minister but the humiliation hurt and the hurt remains. Mary had challenged Albert for the leadership on the forced retirement of Charlie Haughey but she got just six votes of the 77 Fianna Fáil TDs.

The suggestion that Paul Reynolds might contest the Westmeath convention is just a rumour, so far. Perhaps put around to unsettle Mary O'Rourke. The story is Donie Cassidy, a friend of Albert Reynolds from show-band days, would stand aside.

Longford-Westmeath is a new constituency and will return four seats. Fianna Fáil should win two, but there is a chance Fine Gael would take two, with Labour's Willie Penrose taking another and Fianna Fáil being left with one.

The sitting Fine Gael TD, Paul McGrath, seems a certainty, and it is possible the young Fine Gael Athlone councillor, Nicky McFadden, would take a second seat.

Mae Sexton will stand here for the Progressive Democrats, but is widely regarded as a "no-hoper". And if Mary O'Rourke is returned to the Dáil, she may be returned to ministerial office, even at 70. There could be some "undoing" yet.