Martin in attempt to bolster morale among FF faithful

The elements gave a damp and miserable reception to Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin when he arrived in Kells on Thursday night, but there was a warm welcome from the party faithful who turned out despite the blustery wind and rain. The days of huge gatherings across Meath to greet a Fianna Fail leader seemed to be long gone, however, as just in excess of 100 people turned out for a rally in the local Headfort Arms Hotel. Before the rally, Mr Martin, who was being followed by posse of journalists and photographers from the national media, visited Deputy Thomas Byrne's office in Kells where there was a hearty welcome for the new party leader. Earlier, he had stopped off in Dunboyne on his sweep through Meath East. Accompanied by Deputy Byrne and some of his election team, Mr Martin went on a quick walkabout through a windswept and quiet Kells. A young man turning into John Street as the group embarked on their walkabout, was heard to mutter “more bloody politicians†as they dashed between the doorways of shops to greet the people of the town. Back at the Headfort Arms, the party faithful, young and old, had been awaiting his arrival, accompanied by Senator Donie Cassidy,. Deputy Byrne had his three children, Sineád, Tomás and 11-week-old Daithí with him, which certainly warmed the hearts of the party grassroots, who were waiting on the arrival of the politicians. Deputy Byrne said the national media had written Fianna Fail off in Meath East completely, but while he had encountered some criticism on the doorsteps, he said was also getting “fantastic supportâ€. Earlier, the Fianna Fail leader had visited Dunboyne along with local candidate, Nick Killian, where they met with a large group of young peoople who had a series of questions for Mr Martin about colleges, universities, the economy and jobs. Deputy Martin said he was delighted with what he described as the warm welcome he received in the county. He said Deputy Byrne and Cllr Killian were a very strong team. Deputy Byrne was a hard-working and effective TD and a great communicator. “He will have a significant role in this election and his talents will be used by the party,†said Mr Martin. He said that while the Meath East TD had been left off Mr Martin's front bench, announced last week, he had a bright future ahead in the party. The party leader said Ratoath-based Cllr Killian was also a strong candidate with history of hard work. He said that, in terms of electoral strategy, he deferred to local knowledge but party workers believed that the two-candidate strategy was the one to adopt in both Meath East and Meath West. He said there were also two strong candidates in Meath West. “Johnny Brady has done incredible work over the years and Shane Cassells is an experienced councillor who has stood in the general election before,†he said. “In constituencies like this, there are both urban and rural populations and no one candidate fits all,†he said. Mr Martin said that party councillors in Meath were hard-working and diligent and people respected that. He said the issues he encountered on his visit to Meath were concern about the future and jobs. “People are worried about mortgages and interest rates,†he added. Mr Martin believes Meath is well-placed to attract employment given the wealth of transport infrastructure developed here over the past few years. “The impressive infrastructure here leaves Meath in a strong position to attract investment,†he said. Mr Martin recalled that, when he was Minister for Enterprise, he had many meetings with the county manager on the issue of investment in the county. The Fianna Fail leader said the party would be fighting this election on three pillars: economic recovery and restoring the public finances, a job-creation strategy and political and electoral reform. He said there was no point admitting they had made mistakes unless they learned from those mistakes. “We have to change the way we elect politicians, change the way the political system works and bring in outside expertise,†he added.