Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Here’s one for your table quiz. What do Pádraig Conneely (FG), Frank Fahy (FG), Clodagh Higgins (FG), Eddie Hoare (FG), Peter Keane (FF), Donal Lyons (ex-PD Ind), and Hildegarde Naughton (FG) have in common?

They’re all former Mayors of Galway who canvassed against another former First Citizen, Catherine Connolly (Ind), in last month’s Presidential Election.

Though they’re from the same party, retired Councillor Conneely and current Councillor, Fahy — once rivals in City Central — can’t abide each other.

Ordinarily they couldn’t agree on what day of the week it was. But they combined with other friends and foes to resist a fellow Galway native’s Áras bid.

At least that duo — and Higgins, Hoare and Naughton — are from the same party as Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys. Keane’s and Lyons’s intervention was more unusual, though.

Peter Keane and his Fianna Fáil colleagues formed an alliance with a diverse group of Councillors (Labour, Sinn Féin and Independents) that blocked Fine Gael (Higgins, Hoare, Fahy and Shane Forde) from sharing the spoils of power at City Hall after the 2024 Local Election.

Lyons, the King of Knocknacarra, was also excluded from the ruling pact at Galway City Council. And yet they were all on the same side, canvassing against Connolly.

In fairness, Keane was not the only Fianna Fáiler to back Humphreys publicly. Former minister and EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan Quinn and some ministers also intervened during the campaign. She enthusiastically urged Fianna Fáil grassroots to vote for a Fine Gaeler. They wanted the centre to hold, which is fair enough. And canvassing for candidates in an election is not a crime, it’s democracy.

But images of senior Fianna Fáil people canvassing for a Fine Gael candidate helps to erode both of their identities as separate parties. Fianna Fáil canvassing for Fine Gael supports the narrative that they’re the same. How long before they merge?

So not only did the Claddagh Queen and soon-to-be President unite the left — People Before Profit, Social Democrats, Labour, Sinn Féin, Green Party and Independents all backed her — she also managed to unite the centre-right against her in Galway, too!

Another quiz question to conclude. When will Pádraig Conneely, Frank Fahy, Clodagh Higgins, Eddie Hoare, Peter Keane, Donal Lyons, and Hildegarde Naughton be seen together next?

Answer: When Catherine Connolly is (inevitably, surely?) awarded the Freedom of Galway City.

Pictured: Fianna Fáil’s Peter Keane and Independent Donal Lyons with Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton canvassing for Heather Humphries.