Left Candidates from November 1982 April 2, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Left Candidates from ....trackback
Another in the series of looking at the Left vote in previous General Elections, Left candidates and their results from the November 1982 General Election.
The Workers Party (having changed from Sinn Fein The Workers Party the previous April) fielded 20 candidates , 3 more than in the February 1982 Election.
Their National vote increased to 3.3% from 2.2% earlier in the year. However having gone into the election with three seats, they returned with two seats (Tomas MacGiolla and Proinsias de Rossa) with Paddy Gallagher in Waterford and Joe Sherlock in Cork East both losing their seats.
They had supported the minority Fianna Fail government for a number of months and this was held against them by many voters. It was felt by many that they had not done enough to create jobs, indeed such was the frustration that in July a group of Unemployed Youth in the guise of ‘Dungarvan Unemployment Action Group’ marched from Waterford to Dublin in protest. Terry Moroney , one of the marchers stood in the election.
Regionally The Workers Party polled 2.9% in Munster , 6.5% in the Dublin Region, 1.9% in The Leinster Region (excluding Dublin) and 1.1% in Connaught Ulster.
In Limerick East, after a campaign by The Limerick Leader against Jim Kemmy based around his views on abortion, The Democratic Socialist Party TD lost his seat. The local Labour Party had also exploited the issue.
In Dublin Central, on the back of “The Gregory Deal” and local work Tony Gregory held on to the seat he had won earlier in the year.
Between them Fianna Fail and Fine Gael won 84.3% of the vote in that November 82 Election. The previous record combined FF/FG high of 84.6% was in the February 1982 Election.
The Workers Party Candidates
Sean Walsh – Carlow Kilkenny 2,189
Joe Sherlock – Cork East – 6,186
John Kelleher -Cork North Central 1836
Noel Power – Cork South Central 1,485
Seamus Rodgers Donegal South West 1,972
Michael White – Dublin Central 2,161
Padraig Yeates Dublin North Central 1,476
Pat McCartan- Dublin North East 3,056
Proinsias de Rossa – Dublin North West 6,291 ** Elected
Eric Byrne – Dublin South Central 3,774
Andy Smith – Dublin South East 1,820
Pat Rabbitte – Dublin South West 2,365
Tomas MacGiolla – Dublin West 6,844 ** Elected
Eamon Gilmore Dun Laoghaire 1,368
James Brick Galway West 1,787
Sean O’Grady Kerry South 679
Donnchadha MacRaghnaill Louth 671
Paddy Gallagher Waterford 4,577
John Roche – Wexford 920
John McManus- Wicklow 3,431
Democratic Socialist Party Candidates
Garry O’Sullivan-Cork South Central 369 votes
Philip O’Connor – Dublin North Central 224 votes
Denis O’Connor -Dublin South 479 votes
Seamus Rattigan -Dublin South Central 303 votes
Michael Conaghan -Dublin West 476 votes
John De Courcy Ireland -Dun Laoghaire 1036 votes
Jim Kemmy -Limerick East 4125 votes
CPI
John Montgomery – Dublin West 259 votes
IRSP
James Lane -Cork South Central 398
Independents
Tony Gregory-Dublin Central 6,237 votes ** Elected
Bernadette McAliskey – Dublin North Central 1.023
Billy Keegan -Dublin North West 198 votes
Anthony Clarke -Dun Laoghaire 205 votes
Declan Bree – Sligo Leitrim 1,832 votes
Terence Moroney – Waterford 285 votes
*I’ve linked to candidates leaflets from that November 1982 Election that I’ve posted to date.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
So few? That’s the thought that immediately comes to mind on seeing this.
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I’ve researched as best I could the political hue of each of the ‘Independent’ candidates. There were a few ex Labour people such as Thomas Brennan in Waterford that I didn’t include.
Nor did I include the 7 Ecology Party of Ireland candidates who polled 3,676 votes between them.
Other interesting candidates from that Election included Nan Joyce running for Travellers Rights in Dublin South West, Liz Noonan for Gay Rights in Dublin South East, Two Fishermans candidates (John O’Sullivan in Cork South West and Joe O’Shea in Kerry South) and Noel ‘Flukie’ Gorman running for the “Sligo-Leitrim Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Constituents by Lying and Cheating Politicians“
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Left? That’s the thought that immediately comes to mind on seeing some of these names.
I can only hope that in 30 years time we can look back to see that the current crop will have acquitted themselves somewhat better.
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Something in what you say, although – and as regards some of those names I probably have even more reason to be sceptical of them than you – given the programmes they ran on in ’82 and knowing a fair few of them personally only short after and for quite some time after that again they most likely were sincere in their views at the time.
What’s depressing is how they could move from that position to where they stand today.
And +1 on your second point.
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The “flight from Socialism” is a good read in this regard.
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I remember seeing a cartoon a few years back where a one time Left Wing politician now in a trendy suit is telling an audience, ‘I used to be full of half baked idealism.’ A subtitle underneath says, ‘and now I’m full of half baked realism.’
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