Pat Rabbitte Abandoned in Sligo

The acquisition by the Labour Party in Sligo of former Blueshirt, Jimmy McGarry, has sundered the party in the constituency. So fraught are things in the Sligo-North Leitrim constituency that party leader, Pat Rabbitte, was literally abandoned by former deputy and party standard-bearer in Sligo, Cllr Declan Bree, on a recent tour of the constituency.

Bree and comrades are old-fashioned socialists who do not understand the modern dynamic of Rabbitte’s new Labour strategy; ie, get into government via any means, with any partners and with any politics.

In this sense, Sligo Town and County councillor, Alderman Jimmy McGarry, a long-standing member of Fine Gael, is much more on Rabbitte’s wavelength and Rabbitte forced through McGarry’s membership of the local Labour Party in the teeth of stiff resistance from Bree and comrades. The latter were a little concerned at accepting a long-standing Blueshirt who had supported bin charges, privatisation of local services, US landing rights in Shannon, etc (see the Phoenix, 24/10/03)

The were also baffled at Rabbitte’s support for a man who last year had negotiated for several months with local PD members – as well as nationally with PD General Secretary, John Higgins – about the terms under which he would join that party.

That McGarry should want to join the arch Tories (as Rabbitte would describe the PDs) and only fell back on Labour when Harney et al declined to pledge him a senate nomination at the next election, enraged Sligo members. But this also raises the question of what exactly Rabbitte promised McGarry in order to prise him away from the PDs.

McGarry is a strong vote getter who topped the poll in the West area of Sligo Corporation in 1999 and who also retained his county council seat with ease at the same election. Rabbitte is intent on standing both Bree and McGarry at the next General Election and Bree’s supporters see this as ridiculous given the clear socialist campaigns they have campaigned on over the years.

When Rabbitte visited Sligo recently, local party officers made a tentative agreement to separate the party leader’s tour between the respective baronies of the Bree and McGarry camps. However, when Bree and co saw McGarry intruding into their part of the tour, they abandoned Rabbitte in mid-stream, leaving McGarry to escort his new ‘comrade’ throughout the rest of the constituency.
(From the Phoenix 9/4/04. Page 10)