Three new councillors to be co-opted

Thu, Mar 10, 2016

Within the next two weeks, Galway will have three new councillors, with co-options on to the Galway city and county councils to take place following the election to the Dáil of councillors Catherine Connolly, Sean Canney, and Anne Rabbitte.

Sinn Fein or Labour for final seat in Galway West?

Thu, Feb 25, 2016

According to the local pundits, the final seat in Galway West is looking like a straight battle between Sinn Féin and Labour. So will Connemara senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh take the seat held by city based TD Derek Nolan? Insider believes the outcome is too close to call but a look at the race raises some interesting questions.

Alice-Mary Higgins to run for Seanad

Thu, Feb 25, 2016

Galwaywoman Alice-Mary Higgins is to run as an Independent candidate in the Seanad elections.Ms Higgins, daughter of President Michael D and his wife Sabina, has taken an unpaid leave of absence from the National Women’s Council of Ireland, where she works as a policy co-ordinator, to run as a civil society candidate on the NUI panel.

Climate change and the election

Thu, Feb 18, 2016

For as long as Insider can remember, early January was the time for our one major storm in Galway, but since November we have had nine such storms. Met Éireann has even begun devising names for future storms. It is a sign of the times to come.

Galway can lead the State in voting for change this month

Thu, Feb 11, 2016

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael/Labour governments are known quantities. The civil service really runs the State, using elected politicians as spokesmen - and it is usually men - and change comes at a snail’s pace. As soon as one of the parties get too big for its boots, we switch to the other, and the cycle continues.

Votes will be counted in NUIG and New Inn

Thu, Feb 11, 2016

The fate of Galway’s politicians will be decided by the voters on Friday February 26, but the decisions will be known over the weekend when the results are counted in NUI Galway and New Inn.

Will Galway, and Ireland, go Left?

Thu, Feb 04, 2016

A lot has been written in the run-up to the Election 2016 about which parties will make up the next government. Will Enda Kenny get another five years? Could Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil form a coalition? Or could Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael put Civil War politics aside and go in together?

Call for Galway voters to support female candidates in the election

Thu, Feb 04, 2016

Galway’s dismal record in electing only two woman to Dáil Éireann since the foundation of the State, has prompted Women for Election to call on voters in all three Galway constituencies to support female candidates this time around.

Catherine Connolly to launch General Election campaign

Mon, Feb 01, 2016

Independent left city councillor Catherine Connolly will formally launch her Election 2016 campaign this evening at 8.30pm in the Park Hotel, where the guest speaker will be poet and activist Sarah Clancy.

Male rural TDs to rule Galway city?

Thu, Jan 21, 2016

Could it be possible that after the General Election Galway city would have no political representation in the Dail? Yes, it is, and it would appear to Insider that three of the main political parties – Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, and Sinn Féin – intend it to be that way.

Catherine Connolly - poised to win in Galway West?

Tue, Jan 19, 2016

Catherine Connolly came agonisingly close to winning a seat in the 2011 General Election, but five years on, with Labour's decline and despite the rise of Sinn Féin, will 2016 finally be the year she makes it into Dáil Éireann?

Countdown to Election 2016 - the state of the parties

Thu, Jan 14, 2016

As we approach the middle of January, all eyes in the political world turned to what promises to be a hectic political year in 2016. At its heart is the General Election, shortly to be called, but we will also see elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, a possible referendum on Britain's EU membership, and a period of commemorations to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising.

John O'Mahony - does he have a chance?

Thu, Jan 07, 2016

By the beginning of February, the 2016 General Election will have more then likely been declared, and by the end of that month it will more than likely have been held and, 'bar the shouting', be completed across the State, except in Galway West, which will, as usual, drag on much longer than anywhere else.

After 2015, an uncertain future awaits the political parties

Thu, Dec 10, 2015

As the festive season approaches it is not only turkeys which are facing an uncertain future; politicians are also of a nervous disposition as they face the verdict of the electorate in the early weeks of the New Year.

A vote for an Independent is a wasted vote

Thu, Dec 03, 2015

It is fashionable to be Independent at the moment, but given the record of Independents nationally and locally, Insider is not exactly sure why. True, political parties are not that popular right now, and Independents do not have to carry that baggage, but what have they ever actually done? What is their purpose?

Is Brian's departure Derek's opportunity?

Thu, Nov 26, 2015

For the last 12 to 18 months, Labour Galway West TD Derek Nolan has been regarded by pundits and political anoraks as the constituency's 'dead man walking', not so much 'the lad most likely to...' but rather the 'absolute certainty' to lose his seat.

Mike Cubbard to contest Election 2016

Thu, Nov 26, 2015

Mike Cubbard, the Independent city councillor has formally declared he will be running for Dáil Éireann in the Galway West constituency at next year's General Election.

In the wake of Paris, all human lives matter

Thu, Nov 19, 2015

Insider was going to write an article examining the electoral prospects of some of the politicians in Galway West who will be fighting for the constituency's last two seats, but in the wake of the Paris massacre, writing about an election that is still months away, seems, just now, a little frivolous.

The impact of Yes on Galway’s political landscape

Thu, Nov 12, 2015

From Monday November 16, same-sex marriage will be legal and Insider is looking forward to attending the weddings of her friends in the LGBT community. This follows on from May's referendum, where Insider voted a wholehearted Yes.

How will Brian Walsh’s departure affect Galway West?

Thu, Nov 12, 2015

Dep Brian Walsh’s departure from politics this week, and consequent withdrawal from Election 2016 is both a curse and a blessing for Galway West Fine Gael, and will be seen as an opportunity, perhaps even a salvation, by Labour and Fianna Fáil.

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