'A dramatically different county but still with an all too familiar warm welcome'

Meath is a dramatically different county today to what it was almost 50 years ago. The Royal County has seen many changes in social and political life in that period - from a farming county to a largely commuter county.

The political landscape has seen seismic shifts since 1977 when American anthropologist, Tom Wilson, carried out a study of politics in the county.

At the time, the county as a whole and political life here was undergoing huge change, but Tom says that in his wildest dreams he couldn't have imagined the transformation today.

He was a student of City of New York University and spent two years carrying out the research of part of his PhD programme in the late seventies. Returning to another study four decades later the biggest change he saw was “Farmers no longer as influential as they once were.”

“The urban councils are gone. There is a new professionalism in politics, there are more women and independents in politics and society is more secular.”

Tom came to Ireland in 1976 to see about doing his PhD research.

“I was looking for a place where farming was changing due to Ireland's new membership of the Common Market and a place that offered off farm employment,” he says.

“I went to the IDA in Dublin to discuss locations. I thought I'd be going to county Mayo where the Asahi plant was. The guy I spoke to said he had a better a better idea and suggested Navan where Tara Mines had just opened. I thought this was perfect for me and I returned in summer 1977 and stayed two and a half years.”

Life in Navan was not what Tom expected.

“I was surprised by Navan. My family emigrated from Westmeath. They were a very Catholic families. I had a notion that Ireland was very conservative, staid, provincial and Navan wasn't that. Ireland was going through changes and I was surprised at how lively a social life was available. I was delighted. I was a batchelor in my 20s.

“Meath was a good home to me. Navan was a good home. I lived in a house in Silverlawns which I shared with Sean Gilligan, a reporter for the Meath Chronicle who wrote a piece on me for the newspaper. I ended up writing a weekly cinema column for the Meath Chronicle while I was there,”

He found people in general very welcoming.

“I suppose that the general nature of Irish society is very welcoming of scholarship and scholars and that's not to the case everywhere in the world.”

His study eventually became about farmers and politics. “Meath was very much an agricultural county and the elected representatives in local government were mainly farmers.

“Eighty per cent of the county councillors either were farmers or were in a business that was directly related to agriculture.

“My study looked at how the membership of the Common Market and the changing politics of Meath was changing the lives for farmers. The influence of Irish agriculture and Irish farmers was shifting. Farmers were becoming more powerful because of their new status in the EC.

“The IFA had become more powerful. Farmers had CAP. Some big farmer had new sources of wealth, guaranteed prices, other forms of guaranteed income and a lobbying influence that they hadn't had before

“Farmers had traditionally supported Fine Gael more than Fianna Fail, but they had become more volatile and their vote could shift. Civil war politics seemed to be less important.”

In early 1980 Tom went back to New York to finish his thesis. He then worked at the UN International School in New York City for 10 years, but with fond memories of his time in Meath, he returned ever summer during that time. “In 1985 I bought a cottage in Slane and that has been my home in the Republic of Ireland ever since,” he said.

In 1990 Tom moved to Belfast, working at Queens University until 2002 where he was a co-founder of the Centre for International Borders Research. His wife, Anahid is also a social anthropologist, but has now retired. She also worked at Queens and the couple's son, Peter, was born in Belfast.

Tom returned to the US as Professor at Bingham University, State University of New York. He remained a visiting Professor in Queens and is also a visiting professor at Maynooth University and the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University. Tom recalls his first interaction with Meath County Council.

“I was invited by one of the council staff to sit in on a meeting. I was not introduced to the county manager at the time, Frank O'Brien. I just sat in the back of the room in the old offices in Railway Street. I remember thinking I'll meet the county manager at the end of the meeting, but I didn't as he just walked out at the end of the meeting.

“I eventually met him after another meeting. I had been invited by one or two of the councillors for a drink in the Beechmount Hotel and while there, the manager came over to talk to me.

“He was most gracious and welcoming and gave me almost total access to the council and I interviewed many of the staff and councillors.”

Tom remembers interviewing the late Senator Patrick Fitzsimons, his son, the late Paddy and, since he came back, he interviewed his grandson Padraig who is now Mayor of Navan.

Tom particuarly remembers the help he received from Cllr Packie Fulham from Donore.

Former government Minister, Jimmy Tully, was very helpful and John Bruton, who was later to become Taoiseach was instrumental in getting the Fine Gael councillors to work with him.

“Noel Dempsey (a future government minister) had a background in education which set him apart. He was very supportive of my work and what I was going trying to do.”

In 2022, when Tom became Fullbright Professor at Maynooth, he decided to come back to Meath to see if he could do a follow up of his original study, 40 years later.

He found many changes but also a few familiar faces.

Brian Fitzgerald had been elected during his original study in 1979. “Brian a living example of the the changes. He was a member of a party then, but now he is an independent and he lives in a part of Meath that has changed from a small village in a rural county to part of suburban Dublin.

Tom found huge changes in Meath.

“Farmers no longer are as influential as they once were. There are 40 county councillors now and no more than three are active farmers and two of those are part time.

“The role of agriculture and farming in everyday politics in Meath has diminished considerably, There is a new demography of suburban Dublin.

“The urban councils are gone. I'm very aware of a new professionalism and efficiency in the council. You only have to visit Buvinda House to feel the new professionalism and almost corporate structure. You can actually feel confidence that they know what they are doing.”

“Another change securalisation. The Catholic church no longer the power it once had in local life. People look toward Europe rather than the UK and so much money has come into the country from Europe.

“One importance difference is the educational level of the key decision makers and the education and expertise of the councillors.

“A big change is the number of non party representatives, a quarter of the councillors are independents - there might have been two in my original study.

“Another change is there is a salary, so it is possible to be full time county councillor. In my original study they were all part time councillors.

“Social media is changing politics. Politicians have a direct line to their constituents through social media but the kick back is the constituents can comment and have a direct line back to the politicians and are very happy to express themselves in ways that nobody did publicly 40 years ago.

“One of the things that was very obvious to me when I first came back was the number of women on the council and one of the items on the agenda at my first meeting was the Women's Caucus. Women are a new force in Meath politics.”

Tom says he enjoyed a similar welcome when he returned. He found people particularly helpful this time round.

“Elaine Daly introduced me to everyone. Sean Drew was chair when I arrived and was very welcoming. David Gilroy and Gillian Toole were immediately helpful.

“It was almost like I didn't leave. Some of the officials were junior clerks when I was doing my original study. One was Des Foley - he was very welcoming. Everyone on the council including the current CEO, Kieran Kehoe were very kind and welcoming.

“The warm welcome was the one thing that didn't change.”