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MANY IRISH POLITICIANS over the years have had nicknames, including some of this weekend’s general election candidates.
So, how did they fare? And what are the origins of their nicknames?
Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher
The veteran Donegal politician – who has served as a TD, Minister of State and MEP at various stages – lost his Dáil seat in the 2020 general election.
The 76-year-old decided to run again this year and looks set to be re-elected.
Sinn Féin have secured the first two seats in the five-seater constituency – Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn – but Gallagher is currently in third place as counting continues.
In case you were wondering, The Cope nickname comes from the fact his grandfather ran a co-operative retail chain of the same name.
Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Speaking to Donegal Live yesterday, Gallagher said his decision to run again was vindicated by the level of support he received.
“I got a tremendous vote in my home area. Every vote I got was as important to me. People wanted their TD back in my area and I was happy to be in the position again,” he said.
Michael ‘Chicken’ Brennan
Labour’s Michael ‘Chicken’ Brennan was eliminated after the second count in Tipperary South earlier today.
He was elected as a local councillor in the Carrick-on-Suir Local Electoral Area in June.
Michael 'Chicken' Brennan Labour
Labour
Brennan’s uncle, Ned Brennan, served as a Labour member of south Tipperary County Council for over 30 years, and his late father Mick Brennan was a trade unionist for many years.
Earlier this year, he explained how he got the nickname, telling Tipperary Live:
Everyone knows me as ‘Chicken’ Brennan, I have had that nickname since I was four years old.
“We grew up in Killenaule, and my first cousin, also called Michael Brennan, was called Foxy Chicken because they used to keep turkeys. So, to distinguish the two of us, he was called Foxy Chicken and I was called Chicken.”
So there you have it. What are turkeys, if not foxy chickens?
Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran
Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran looks set to be re-elected in Longford-Westmeath, four years after losing his seat.
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Kevin 'Boxer' Moran pictured in 2019 Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie
Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie
A TD in the 32nd Dáil, Moran served as Minister for State for the OPW and Flood Relief between 2017 and 2020. He was elected to Westmeath County Council earlier this year.
As counting continues in Longford-Westmeath, Moran is currently in third place in the five-seat constituency.
Moran is often referred to by the nickname ‘Boxer’, which apparently arose from him hitting an opponent in a football game at the age of 12.
Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere
Fianna Fáil’s Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere is in with a good chance of being elected in Carlow-Kilkenny – the party could actually take three seats in the five-seat constituency.
Peter 'Chap' Cleere Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
No-one has been elected yet but – after eight counts – John McGuinness is in first place, followed by his party colleagues Jennifer Murnane O’Connor in second and Cleere in third.
Cleere has been a member of Kilkenny County Council for 10 years, serving as mayor from 2019 to 2020. He previously played with the Kilkenny senior hurling team and managed the Carlow senior camogie team.
So, why is he called Chap? The Journal ran into Peter’s sister at a count centre today and asked her that very question.
His father is also called Peter, so the younger Peter needed a nickname.
When he was a child, he was “always told he’s a ‘big chap’ or a ‘great chap’… Chap stuck”, his sister told us. She said she can’t remember ever calling him Peter.
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch
In perhaps the most-followed story of the general election, gangland figure Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch narrowly missed out on taking the fourth and final seat in Dublin Central.
Hutch was in fourth position for much of the count but, ultimately, Labour Senator Marie Sherlock took the seat after she got a major boost from transfers.
Independent candidate Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch at RDS count centre earlier today Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The Monk’s nickname was first coined by journalist Harry McGee (now an Irish Times political correspondent) in the 1990s. McGee was writing an article for the Irish Press about the 1995 Brinks Allied robbery in Clonshaugh, north Dublin.
Hutch was linked to the multi-million pound heist, but couldn’t be named for legal reasons at the time (he has always denied any involvement). Trying to avoid repeating terms like ‘gang leader’ throughout the article, McGee came up with the name The Monk.
In an Irish Times podcast last month, McGee recalled how he settled on the nickname: “He wasn’t typical of your Dublin criminal. He was a very moderate drinker, he didn’t smoke, at the time he went running every day, his family lived in Clontarf well away from the north inner city where he was brought up.”
McGee may have created the name out of necessity, but it stuck – it’s still how people refer to Hutch 30 years later.
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