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The front of a leaflet being distributed by Ronan McMahon (via Facebook)
A LOCAL ELECTION candidate has been accused of confusing and annoying voters in a south Dublin suburb by distributing leaflets which refer to him as ‘Independent Fine Gael’.
Ronan McMahon failed to get selected by Fine Gael to run in the Templeogue-Terenure constituency in May’s local elections, but is now running for South Dublin County Council under an ‘Independent Fine Gael’ banner with his leaflets using colours similar to those on official Fine Gael leaflets.
He will appear as ‘non-party’ on the ballot paper on 23 May but his leaflets say he is ‘Independent Fine Gael’ in a move which some have said is confusing voters in the area.
McMahon, the son of former Fine Gael TD and senator Larry McMahon, did not respond to a number of requests for comment from TheJournal.ie.
A Fine Gael spokesperson said that McMahon “is not an official Fine Gael candidate” and added: “I am not aware of the existence of a registered organisation called ‘Independent Fine Gael.’”
A local Fine Gael source, who declined to be named, described McMahon’s leaflets as “confusion marketing” saying it was a “deliberate choice” to use Fine Gael colours and said the leaflet had annoyed and confused some locals.
The source told this website: “He’s making it look as close as you can to the brand leader.”
“I think it’s not going to get him anywhere. He would have been more honest with people to say: ‘I am an independent, I was with Fine Gael, I left them’.“The problem is when you get to the doorstep, people will ask you: ‘What do you mean? Are you in Fine Gael or not?’ And the whole conversation is taken up with that.”
McMahon faces expulsion from Fine Gael as a result of his decision to run as an independent having signed a pledge when he sought the nomination to not run against the party’s official candidates.
Local councillor Colm Brophy declined to comment on the leaflet, but said: “I will be fighting my own campaign on my own record and my own work in the community since 2008.”
Fine Gael is running three candidates in the area with Brophy seeking re-election along with Brian Lawlor and Siobhan Butler also running for the party.
Lawlor said that “bar the word independent” the leaflet “is a Fine Gael leaflet” but insisted he is not bothered by it, saying: “Ronan’s obviously chosen that road. It doesn’t really bother me. I just worry about my own campaign.”
He said that he had a call from one constituent in the area saying the leaflet was confusing to some given McMahon’s family links to the party.
But Lawlor said he saw his opponent as no different to those running under a Fianna Fáil or Labour banner.
“Ronan to me is just an independent candidate,” he added.
Amnesty and others should be ashamed of themselves coming out with this kind of gift wrapped propaganda for Russia, theres only one side commiting war crimes and it aint Ukraine
@Buí agus Gorm: The rules of international humanitarian law are there to protect everyone. If you deny one side’s responsibilities you open up the Pandoras box. And a breach of international humanitarian law is not necessarily a war crime. War crimes are reserved for serious breaches. And you are right: the only war crimes that I have seen have come from the Russian side. But Amnesty should not be ashamed for standing up for international law.
@Nicholas McMurry: every rule is being broken by Russia who cares about the Russian pow’s getting a bit of a video taken of them they are getting off lightly.
@Nicholas McMurry: agreed. To put it simply, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Hang on a minute, they are not POW’s as Herr Putin has said it is not a “war”
I wonder if “organised” groups like paid Syrian mercenaries or Chechen terrorists are to be treated as POW’s? Given their track records of brutality and human rights abuses, they should be shot out of hand.
@Paul Shepherd: mercenaries are not entitled to combatant nor prisoners of war status afforded under the Geneva Convention. As for ‘terrorists’ if they are members of a local opposition, clearly identifiable and openly carrying weapons they are entitled to such status.
@D. Memery: I’m sure their victims will be relieved that their human rights will be respected.
@Paul Shepherd: perhaps you should direct your critism at the authors of the convention and the International Red Cross so! If you read the link you will note that although mercenaries are not entitled the combatant status they are permitted to be detained and tried for any crimes committed under civilian law.
If some dude came to my country and attacked my family n friends and then I captured him. I wouldn’t be caring if some yolk from the UN thought filming him was degrading. To be honest i probably wouldnt be keeping him alive in the first place.
@Rob Gale: What is the point in defending our values if we don’t have any?
I’m sorry but did Russia worry about all the innocents they have killed in cold blood? Women, children, the old and the sick. And those soldiers looked like middle Eastern blokes that joined up.
@Roy Dowling: oh b1. te me you @$$ wipe. I’m not gender biased I’m on the side of those unable to defend themselves. Why are there such €€jits here making such immature uneducated comments in the middle of a conflict.
@Anna Carr: hopefully I’ll never get close enough to you to b1.te you. People like you are why are to the problems of this world. You expect all men capable to defend themselves but no women are capable to defend themselves. Makes it more gender bias on your side.
I think Ukraine needs to take the high ground and not engage in tactics Putin would use.
Civilians didn’t sign up to the Geneva convention to protect Russian invaders. When this goes full guerilla warfare those sad phone calls will be public executions.
The general perception is that Putin started a war. I would suggest cautiously that Putin started an invasion. By way of Ukraine’s defence, a war began. Compare this war to the US troops exiting Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda (although already largely present with the country) carried out an invasion. Not a war. While I admire Zelenskyy’s bravery and hope the best for him, I can’t help but think he’s not being realistic in meeting Putin halfway. That Ireland voted to fast-track Ukraine into the EU will only stoke the fire. But then Ireland is just an EU provincial government. France / Netherlands who both vetoed the move is a tad more realistic.
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