FOR Angie Baily, it was long wait until she was officially confirmed as elected as a councillor to the Tralee Municipal District of Kerry County Council.
The teacher, originally from Rathanny in Ballymac, was certain to get the sixth seat even after Thomas McEllistrim requested a recount in the early hours of Monday morning, but she had to wait until just after 4pm later that day to hear the words of confirmation from Deputy Returning Officer Damien Ginty.
She was still reeling from the annoucement when we spoke to her at the count centre on Monday afternoon, where she reflected on the achievement of being elected as a first-time candidate.
Continued below…
“It’s almost like being like handed your healthy baby in hospital…the wait is over. This is not just me, I’d be nowhere without the team behind me. For me this is monumental, I’m a nobody really from Ballymac coming into this and to be able to take a seat and represent local people is huge.”
She said she received great support and advice from Fine Gael stalwarts in the party like Deputy Brendan Griffin, Frank Quilter and others.
“My own late father Paddy Joe had a great interest in politics and I would have had his friends to call on including the former councillor Pat McCarthy and even Fianna Fáil Cllr Fionnán Fitzgerald was always there for advice when I needed it.
Speaking of her father, who passed away nearly six years ago, I suggest he would have been a proud man seeing his daughter elected.
Continued below…
“I don’t know if he thought he would ever have seen a day like this, but I’m sure he would be very, very proud. He was a great community man who brought people together and if I can do that then at least I think I will have succeeded.”
With Fianna Fáil’s Anne O’Sullivan also elected for Tralee and Fionnán Fitzgerald elected in the Castleisland Local Electoral Area, there’ll be a trio of Ballymac natives on the Council when it meets for the first time on June 21.
“I think we’ll have to start selling the water from Ballymac because there must be something in it!” said Angie.
“It’s not just three people from Ballymac, but also three teachers and I think there’s something in that. It’s a wonderfully proud moment. Fionnán and I sing together in the local church and Anne is involved in the church down the road, so we know each other locally and we’re all involved in the community. Who would have thought we’d all get in?”
Tralee MD will now have three female representatives on the Council, the most ever, and Angie said she is looking forward to working with Deirdre Ferris and Anne O’Sullivan.
“Let’s see how we can shake things up and bring something new to proceedings, a bit of je ne sais quoi,” she said, laughing.
This ‘nobody’ from Ballymac is aiming to make a name for herself on the political scene over the next five years.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..