'I have never had to go looking for people to help out with campaigns'

As campaigning for the European and local elections heats up, one candidate who is remaining calm in the face all the canvassing, meetings and electioneering is Cllr Brian Fitzgerald.

After almost 40 years on Meath Co Council this is his eighth local election, so he knows the score when it comes to campaigning.

Cllr Fitzgerald takes it all quite calmly. "I have lots of very good support. I have never had to go looking for people to help out with campaigns. When an election is called, they would be at the door."

There are many differences in the election campaigns of today and of 1985 when Cllr Fizgerald contested his first local election. "The country was a very different place with people really struggling and the council with very little money.

"There was no social media. We didn't even have mobile phones - I don’t know how we managed without the phones. We used to make speeches outside churches, although that was usually for general elections. I remember being out with the late Pa Lowe - I was standing on a pink plastic stool addressing those coming out of mass."

The young Brian Fitzgerald’s first election saw him aiming to hold onto the Labour seat on Meath Co Council previously held by his uncle, the late Jack Fitzgerald.

"I struggled a lot. It was a tough election, but I made it and after that I did well."

Cllr Fitzgerald was re-elected at every election after that, usually on the first count. He went on to be chairman of the Council on three separate occasions and was a member of the North Eastern Health Board for 13 years, until it was abolished in 2004. He was also a Labour TD for Meath from 1992 to 1997.

He resigned from the Labour Party in 1998 having opposed that party's merger with Democratic Left.

"A local election came round the corner very quickly, just the following year. I'd had what was very much a traditional Labour vote, but I found I had a lot of support - there were plenty who rowed in behind me and I was re-elected. I still remain friends with people in the Labour Party, I never fell out with them."

One of the major changes a lot of candidates have spoken about over the years is the increasing level of hostility shown to politicians but Cllr Fitzgerald counts himself lucky as he hasn't encountered too much of it.

"I'm not really getting hostility, maybe just a few comments from families with sons and daughters looking for homes. Housing is a major problem. The government took its eye off the ball in formulating the planning framework. Instead of zoning to provide more houses, we were instructed to de-zone and now the chickens are coming home to roost,"he said.

Cllr Fitzgerald doesn't do social media, relying mainly on face to face canvassing. He started his campaigning on 7th May. "It is more tiring then it was 40 years ago, so we are trying to pace ourselves. It could be worse though and the health is good," he said.

He appreciates the very hard work of his supporters who are out on the campaign trail and all those who have campaigned with him over the years.

"Unfortunately, some of those have now passed away. If I am re-elected, I will dedicate it to their memory," he said.