Posted online: May 15th, 2009

By Chris Ashmore
Deputy Pat “The Cope” Gallagher is on course to make a winning return to the European Parliament – according to the bookmakers.
The Donegal South-West Dail Deputy was added to the Fianna Fail ticket at the last minute to contest the three seat Ireland North-West Constituency.
And, according to Paddy Power Bookmakers, Deputy Gallagher is third favourite at 4/6, behind independent MEP Marian Harkin at 1/2, and Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins who is 1/9.
Gallagher’s inclusion may well secure a seat for Fianna Fail, but he is likely to face a real battle to see off Sinn Fein’s Padraig MacLochlainn.
Fianna Fail’s decision to run Gallagher will cut into MacLochlainn’s vote for geographical reasons.
However, supporters of Paschal Mooney, who had been the sole candidate at one stage for Fianna Fail, are incensed by the news that Gallagher is running and feel that the Leitrim politician’s chances have been massively diminished.
Declan Ganley of Libertas will be hoping to capitalise on the fact that there is no Galway-based candidate and with a powerful, well financed machine behind him, he too is hoping to be in with a shout for the third seat.
Transfers will be crucial in this election which has 13 candidates, the others being: Sen. Joe O’Reilly (Fine Gael), Susan O’Keefe (Labour), and independents, John Francis Higgins, Thomas King, Noel McCullagh, Michael McNamara, and Fiachra Ó Luain.
Deputy Gallagher said that he was delighted to take up the challenge and hopes that his previous record in Europe – he was an MEP from 1994-2002 – will stand to him.
Out-going Fianna Fail MEP Sean O’Neachtain is not running for health reasons.
Fianna Fail is expected to take a hit at the polls, and the presence of two storng independent candidates in Harkin and Ganly should mean that it will be a real battle. In 2004, independents (Harkin and Dana Rosemary Scallon) received over 29% of the vote, Fianna Fail had 27%, Fine Gael 24% and Sinn Fein 15.5%.