The Healy Raes

The poster is "VOTE No.1 HEALY-RAE DANNY"

His latest utterances only make MHR look like a bigger eejit. Can he only do something if Danny says it's OK? Now he's complaining about the consequences of his (MHR) being such a sap.

When asked if he will ever work with his brother again politically, Healy-Rae said he will be careful with doing a deal with someone again, stating that you have to be able to rely on that person to have a backbone.

Anyone contemplating doing a deal with MHR in future should certainly contemplate his complete lack of a backbone

Do you know him personally? Not one bit accurate really.

Now, my opinion on what's going on

This current rift is decades old.

There is no love lost between the brothers or the cousins since the end of the dual mandate when Jackie SNRs Kerry Co Co seat went to Danny. Its always been jostling for positions. Mike had won his own seat in the Killorglin EA after a KCC redraw. Jackie junior wasn't old enough for that seat when Mike went to the Dail and Johnny (Dannys son) got that one.

After the amalgamation of the two Dail constituencies into one and Dannys election to the Dail, he then did one better by co-opting Maura into his KCC seat in Killarney, forcing Jackie junior to go to Castleisland when he wanted a council seat.

Danny blocked Mike's junior ministry back in 2016 when Enda wanted to make him minister for rural affairs. Danny apparently wouldn't vote for EK for Taoiseach under any circumstances.

Danny's wife is an absolute lady and their large family are extremely likeable, highly capable and well respected.

Mike's family are all business and not quite as personable but highly effective.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. I don't see any reconciliation as being possible after what Mike said to Jerry o Sullivan on RK the other day.

Danny appears to have had a rush of blood to the head after being roundly abused at the protest in Killarney on the Sunday before he spoke. MM (who hates both of them intensely) then forced Mike out as punishment for Dannys perceived disloyalty to gov.

If there's a splitting of Kerry into two Dail constituencies again (as is possible to likely) neither will want to go in Kerry North. What happens then? Do they run against each other? Mike would win. Jackie junior goes in Kerry North in that scenario.

Does Danny drop out and let Johnny or Maura run against Mike or would Mike bury the hatchet enough to let one of them go in NK (they have no current votes there but Jackie junior does) and have Jackie jnr wait for his own seat?

If there's no constituency change, its a lot simpler- Danny runs or drops out in favour of one of Johnny or Maura, but do Mike and Jackie jnr allow that to go uncontested or try to nab both seats for themselves?

Fascinating stuff if you're a political nerd.

I agree wholeheartedly but that utopia is very very far off and its not limited to rural or familial politics either. In the real world, every party rep, and every independent have someone coming behind them for 'their' seat. That's the game.

Ok, different for an independent, but still, no, a party rep might have 2 or 3 people coming after "their" seat, and the local party has a selection convention to decide who gets to run. (And if the loser doesn't like the result, they can leave the party and run as an independent, hello Jackie H-R!)

If there were term limits, at least you wouldn't have people going "That's Blogg's seat, poor craythur, sure I'll vote for their kid!" as a sympathy vote when they pop their clogs. That's how Mildred Fox got in, and she didn't utter a word in the Dáil, once. Hugh Coveney said he didn't want any of his kids to go into politics, and we got Simon.

I suppose the proposed ban would only apply to the constituency the parent represented

Otherwise you'd end up with a cohort who were disbarred from representative politics by reason of birth.

If Bob is elected in 2027 for his first term at the age of 40, and was only allowed serve, say, two terms, even three, he'd be finished as a TD at 55, retiring in 2042 (and I'd propose couldn't then "retire" to the Seanad.) If he pops his clogs at the early age of 70, 15 years later, his son Ted can run for election (as Ted could have done at any stage!), but nobody is going "Ah, poor Ted, his da is after dyin', sure I'll give him a vote, it's only right his son gets the seat!"

Term limits are what will save America from Trump running again in 2028…