As Connaughton bows out, all eyes on Burke and Treacy

By TOM GILMORE WITH Deputy Paul Connaughton announcement yesterday (Tuesday) that he is to retire from Dail Eireann  attention now focuses on what decisions Deputies Ulick Burke and Noel Treacy will make about their futures. Michael Kitt is the only sitting TD in Galway East to indicate that he will contest for a seat in the next General Election. There is speculation that Deputy Ulick Burke, who is the same age (66) as Deputy Connaughton, may also decide to throw in the towel . Deputy Noel Treacy has had health problem to deal with in recent times, but neither has yet indicated what their plans are regarding the next election. Deputy Connaughton's decision to retire took most political observers by surprise but he says that as he is 66 years of age he has decided it is time to call it a day in the Dail and concentrate more on being with his family and on farming activities. But his son, Paul Junior, who is a member of Galway Co Council, will be hoping to be one of those contesting the Dail seat for Fine Gael. 'I would dearly love to be in a position to assist Party Leader Enda Kenny become Taoiseach after the coming General Election but because of the tremendous challenges facing the country I believe the torch should be passed on to a new generation,' said Deputy Connaughton. He also told The Tuam Herald that his wife Bernie played a pivotal role in his career over the years and their work as a team made the task all the easier for him. 'I wish to thank my wife Bernie, my family, East Galway Fine Gael at every level, and particularly the people of East Galway who faithfully returned me at every General Election since 1981. 'It was an absolute pleasure and a privilege to be involved in the political life of the country over such a long period, but I feel saddened that the county has been allowed to drift into a terrible position where so many ordinary people are now hurt and humiliated,' he added. He was first elected to Seanad Éireann in 1977, having unsuccessfully contested a by-election in 1975 for a seat vacated following the death of the late Michael F Kitt with that seat being taken by his son the current Deputy Michael Kitt. 'We both contested that by-election and while I was successful then we both lost in the 1977 General Election when we were elected to the Seanad,' says Deputy Kitt. 'We might have been on different sides of the political divide but when it came to local issues we were on the same side and I never had a serious row with him over anything. 'He was very knowledgeable on many issues but in particular in the areas of agriculture and transport and I wish him well in retirement,' says Deputy Kitt. Since his election to the Dáil in 1981 he has held his seat in Galway East through various changes in the constituency boundary and Deputy Connaughton was a Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture in Garret FitzGerald's Government from 1982-1987. He has held several positions on Fine Gael's front bench over a period of 20 years. His party colleague in the Dail for this constituency Deputy Ulick Burke described him as a tireless worker who had beaten the campaign trail with him for over 37 years. 'He was a hard man on the campaign trail and he would work 24 hours a day, seven days a week if and when required. 'We never had a row of any consequence. His retirement is the end of an era for us all in a way and he was a person who would never do anyone down, even in the cut-throat business of politics,' says Ulick. Describing Deputy Connaughton as 'a captain' he added that it was very much because of his planning and hard work that Fine Gael secured two of the four Dail seats in Galway East. He said when he took on any issue he pursued it vigorously. 'For nearly every election since we both started out we soldiered together and I remember after the disaster for the party in 1977 we went door-to-door to re-organise the organization in Galway East which was instrumental in bringing it to what it is today,' added Deputy Burke. At the time of going to press Deputy Burke had not indicated what his future plans in politics are and as Deputy Noel Treacy was away in the Isle of Man until yesterday (Tuesday) he was not contactable. But while Deputy Michael Kitt says he is ready for the campaign trail again he is not getting involved with calls by his brother Deputy Tom Kitt for the resignation of Brian Cowen as Fianna Fail leader. 'I don't think it's right to be talking about a leadership heave right now and I believe that Brian Cowen was right to say that getting the budget through is more important than an election at present,' says Deputy Kitt. 'An election without a budget would lead to a lot of instability and he is correct in trying to have a go at getting the budget through the Dail. 'My attitude is that we need to get the budget passed and the four year plan put in place and then look at all other issues, including an election in the New Year.' Deputy Kitt concluded that while he was sorry to see the IMF arrive in Ireland if it brought stability to the banks and the economy it should be seen as helping the country on the road to recovery.