From RTE: Moriarty Tribunal report - The main points
Data on the Tipp North constituency from ElectionsIreland.org:
| General Election 2011 | Party | 1st Pref Votes | Share | Quota | |
| Michael Lowry Snr | Independent | 14,104 | 29.22% | 1.17 | |
| Noel J Coonan | Fine Gael | 11,425 | 23.67% | 0.95 | |
| Alan Kelly | Labour | 9,559 | 19.80% | 0.79 | |
| General Election 2007 | |||||
| Michael Lowry Snr | Independent | 12,919 | 29.08% | 1.16 | |
| Noel J Coonan | Fine Gael | 7,061 | 15.89% | 0.64 | |
| Maire Hoctor | Fianna Fail | 7,374 | 16.60% | 0.66 | |
| General Election 2002 | |||||
| Michael Lowry Snr | Independent | 10,400 | 25.39% | 1.02 | |
| Maire Hoctor | Fianna Fail | 8,949 | 21.84% | 0.87 | |
| Michael Smith | Fianna Fail | 8,526 | 20.81% | 0.83 | |
| General Election 1997 | |||||
| Michael Lowry Snr | Independent | 11,638 | 29.13% | 1.17 | |
| Michael O'Kennedy | Fianna Fail | 9,895 | 24.77% | 0.99 | |
| Michael Smith | Fianna Fail | 6,999 | 17.52% | 0.7 |
5 comments:
Proof that nothing good has ever come from Tipperary.
Interesting post. Just with moderator's hat on, could I ask people to exercise some degree of caution if they are commenting on the legal aspects of the recent tribunal judgment. I am not a lawyer but I think its fair to say that Moriarty's findings are that Lowry engaged in acts of corruption. So the point of Mark's post is clear but lets not get into questions of legal interpretation.
Also, the McCracken Tribunal concluded that Lowry had evaded tax, ahead of the 1997 election! Though, in fairness, the €500,000 extension to his home must have provided a lot of local employment at the time.
I thought Gaelic Games were invented in Tipperary...
I think what the table brings out is that the voters in that constituency don't care about the allegations (or whatever they are) regarding Mr Lowry. If there was an election tomorrow, I am sure he would be re-elected. Maybe, thats quite rational - however abhorrent we might regard it - if they think that he has delivered substantial benefits.
Although I am not that familiar with rural Ireland (being an unreconstructed jackeen) my sense is that much of it harbours a general distrust or even resentment towards that "Dublin crowd" (a feeling warmly reciprocated).
Post a Comment