Charlie: Council to Dáil in
629 days
04.03.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen
Independent
FROM the Public Services Centre in Carn to the Dáil in
only 629 days, Charlie McConalogue has rocketed through
the Fianna Fáil ranks.
One of only 20 Fianna Fail TDs nationwide, the affable
Gleneely man begins life in Leinster House next
Wednesday morning.
Aged just 33 and only a councillor since 2009,
McConalogue said he is still coming to terms with the
fact that he is a TD
The son of the late Willie Joe McConalogue and Mary
(nee) Bradley, Charlie has two brothers, William and
Hugh, and three sisters, Maria, Margaret and Catherine.
A former pupil of St Boden’s National School, Culdaff
and Carndonagh Community School, he completed a degree
at University College Dublin, before returning home
following the death of his father.
A fan of Liverpool, McConalogue is a keen reader and
sports fan. His favourite book is The Alchemist by Paulo
Coelho. He also enjoys TV shows, The Sopranos and West
Wing.
His ambition and focus now is to excel in his role
representing Inishowen and Donegal North East in the
Dáil. “I want to do my best and do a really good job for
the area,” he said. |
It must be a humbling
experience to know that so many people took time out to
vote for you last week?
It is a very humbling experience to have people put
their faith in you and to endorse you to go forward and
represent your local people and your local area at
national level. I feel very honoured to have gotten that
mandate from the people of the constituency to represent
them.
After only becoming a county councillor in 2009 can
you quite believe you are a TD already?
The fact that I am actually a TD is only starting to
sink in now. It all happened very quickly. It is only
just a little over four weeks since I was selected as
the candidate. So, it wasn’t even clear until very
recently that I would have the opportunity to be a
candidate never mind a TD.
I am absolutely delighted to get this opportunity at a
relatively young age, at a time when I have the energy
and time to devote to the job. I definitely didn’t
expect to have the chance to be a TD so soon after being
elected to the council. |
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Did you think you would
make it? Did you have any fears that you might miss out
because of FF’s unpopularity nationwide?
I always knew it would be a big, big challenge to win a
seat. From the outset, I was of the view that I would be
in a 50/50 battle for the third seat. I knew very much
that the party nationally was very unpopular,
understandably so, and in many ways that represented a
difficulty and an obstacle for many people to voting for
me. So I knew it was going to be tough. But at the same
time, I put forward my case as to why I felt that I was
a candidate who could do well for the area and also in
terms of what I represented by bringing new and fresh
energy to the Dáil. I am just grateful that enough
people had faith in my ability to represent them and
voted for me.
On count day itself, I felt I had a strong fighting
chance of taking the third seat when I heard the tally
figures from the Inishowen ballot boxes but I didn’t
take anything for granted until the actual declaration
on Saturday night. I was really heartened by the strong
vote the people of Inishowen gave me despite the fact
that my party nationally is very unpopular and has lost
so many seats across the country. |
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After only becoming a
county councillor in 2009 can you quite believe you are
a TD already?
The fact that I am actually a TD is only starting to
sink in now. It all happened very quickly. It is only
just a little over four weeks since I was selected as
the candidate. So, it wasn’t even clear until very
recently that I would have the opportunity to be a
candidate never mind a TD.
I am absolutely delighted to get this opportunity at a
relatively young age, at a time when I have the energy
and time to devote to the job. I definitely didn’t
expect to have the chance to be a TD so soon after being
elected to the council. |
You will become a new
young face on the Dail. What will you do for the people
here in Inishowen?
My job is going to be to represent the area as strongly
as possible on the issues that are important to the
people of the area. The number one issue for our area,
the same as many other areas, is to try and encourage
businesses and job growth and to develop policies that
will help that to come about. I know that every other
area will be trying to do the same but for us
particularly it will be trying to build up the
infrastructure in terms of roads, broadband, schools in
our area. I want to be a very credible and effective
voice at national level to try and ensure that the
projects get moved and progressed in our constituency.
Is it good for Inishowen that Pádraig got elected
too?
Inishowen didn’t have a TD based in the peninsula for
the last four years so I think we are getting the bounce
of the ball this time in terms of having two TDs now.
This can only be a good thing for the peninsula.
Obviously we will all have to work to represent the
constituency but it is encouraging and a boost for the
peninsula to have two TDs for the first time.
Who is likely to replace you on Donegal County
Council?
That is a matter for the Fianna Fáil organisation and
membership in Inishowen. Once the council seat, held by
a particular party, becomes vacant the party is charged
with nominating a replacement. The party members will
meet in the next couple of weeks to decide. It is very
much up to the members of the party to decide who will
replace me on Donegal County Council. |
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