“Politics is a personal journey, you either believe in something or you don’t. You’re in a party but you make certain personal decisions. If I lost that approach I would leave politics without hesitation.”
By Dermot Crean
LOOK around Tralee and chances are you’ll see a bit of Jim Finucane in a lot of things. He’s out in the Windmill in Blennerville and at the Museum in Ashe Street.
That absence of a stench on the Dingle road for the past 25 years? He was pivotal in removing that too.
So for a man who has contributed so much to the town, what keeps him coming back for more as he runs again as a Fine Gael candidate in the local elections.
I met him at his house on the Oakpark Road and found out more about the north Kerry man.
Born, reared and educated in Tarbert, the Finucane family were dealt a blow when the father died when Jim was just 13. He got offered the position to train as a draughtsman in Dublin upon leaving Tarbert Comprehensive back in 1975 and would spend the next nine years in Dublin, a move which would shape his social and political leanings.
Dublin, as it is for any young man from the country, was a completely new experience for Jim. He got involved with the Catholic Youth Council who ran a centre in Sheriff Street among other places.
“At the time, Sheriff Street was the old Dublin tenements and known as a very tough part of Dublin. I helped run a disco two or three nights a week just to keep kids in off the street.”
He saw some things there that had a profound effect on him.
“I saw my first eviction there, guys with helmets going in,” he recalled. “Being from Tarbert I wouldn’t have been aware of social ranks or differences but in Sheriff Street unemployment was rife and there were nutrition issues with children. Basically kids had to grow up quickly. It was a no-no of an area in terms of giving it as your address when going for a job. That situation made me get involved in politics.”
He wrote a “hard” letter to Garrett Fitzgerald at the time and the Fine Gael leader asked him to get involved in Young Fine Gael which was starting around that time (late 70s).
He got elected to the Executive and was later National Chairman for two years He also was director of elections in Dublin North Central (“I found city politics demanding but I liked it.”)
He describes himself as “very much left of centre” in the party; “Social justice has been my principle then, right through to now.”
He came back to Kerry in the mid 1980s when he got a position as an inspector with an insurance company in Tralee. He ran for Tralee Town Council in 1986 and was elected and would spend the next 14 years in the local authority, the only Fine Gael councillor.
“It was in the aftermath of the closure of the Tubes factory which devastated the town. Some would say it’s challenging enough now but it was similar back then.”
Jim got involved in projects which would make Tralee the tourist town it is today. He praised the recently deceased former town clerk, Sean Crispie (“an extraordinary man and a great town servant”) for his work around that time, as well as John Griffin.
“The Blennerville Windmill, Steam Train and County Museum projects stimulated economic activity and gave confidence to the local economy. Before that there was very little, apart from Siamsa Tire, to keep tourists in Tralee,” he said.
He also started the process of closing the dump on the Dingle road, of which we can all be thankful for!
“I began the process of telling the County Council that we’d [the Town Council] close it and they could make their own arrangements. I was Chairman when we put the locks on the gate of the dump.”
He was also instrumental in instigating the sewage treatment plant out in Lohercannon (“it dramatically altered the quality of the water in Tralee Bay.”)
Jim took a break from politics for much of the Noughties but returned in 2009 when he was asked to run in for the County Council and he was elected.
This time around Jim says there is a lot of fatigue amongst the voters on the doorstep.
“People are paying all their commitments and its a struggle. It’s gone on for six years now and there’s a tiredness there. I can understand it, it’s hard for people to take,” he said. “I think the people that should be spared from this hardship are the young and the old. As the economy begins to turn we need to redress this,” he stressed.
For the future of Tralee, it’s all about jobs and improving infrastructure as he explains here (see video, apologies for audio quality)
He feels strongly that Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte needs to step up in the Shannon LNG issue where there is huge scope for jobs all over North Kerry and Tralee.
“The situation is unacceptable at the moment and I’m not giving up on this,” he said.
Other pressing issues facing the town, he says are getting technological university status for Tralee will “be of huge benefit to the town in terms of attracting companies to the campus”, the maintenance of the airport and the road infrastructure to Cork and Limerick.
Away from politics and public service, Jim has a great interest in history, especially related to those who emigrated to the US back in the mid-nineteenth century (he attended the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia in 2012).
Married to Sheila Sheehy, sister of Kerry legend Mikey, he, naturally, is an honorary Rockie and travels to Kerry games. He is also very proud of his three children, James, Jill and Orla.
After all these years in public life Jim hasn’t lost his enthusiasm and conviction.
“I believe I have a contribution to make. Nothing is more tedious than public life if you’re not interested in doing something different. I’m not in it for longevity. Unfortunately there’s too many people in public life in it for that.”
