04 July 2003: The stage is set this morning for what could be a defining moment in the political career of Naas councillor Willie Callaghan, and perhaps the local Fianna Fail cuman itself, as the council prepares to decide on who will be Mayor of Naas for the last term of the current council.
If, as seems probable from the proceedings of the adjourned AGM, Cllr Callaghan votes for Fine Gael's Pat O'Reilly for the Naas first citizen position, he will be throwing away Fianna Fail's chance of leading the councils of the three main towns in mid- and north Kildare.
His only party colleague on the council, Cllr Charlie Byrne, has not held the chair of the council in its current incarnation, and he is keen to have his turn. Cllr Callaghan's support would swing it for him, but - a former Mayor himself - Callaghan doesn't want to support Byrne.
And he will be flying in the face of sentiment within his own local party cuman, where he faced a rigourous questioning about his intentions earlier this week. When asked bluntly would he be 'voting Fianna Fail', it seems Callaghan refused to answer.
Indeed, KNN understands that the matter will be brought further up the party's hierarchy by some cuman members.
The adjourned AGM is taking place at the very unusual time of 10.30 am in St Mary's in Naas. Today is the last day when the meeting can be held under law, and is the result of a controversial postponement of the meeting from last week, at the request of Cllr Eibhlin Bracken, whose husband had taken ill abroad.
Callaghan's position might become moot, because Cllr Mary Glennon had holiday plans set for this week, and Cllr Anthony Egan was yesterday out of the country on a family matter. Both would have supported Byrne if the meeting had gone ahead last week, which would likely have resulted in a 4-4 split, at which the Mayor position would have been decided by draw.
Callaghan may well be counting on being able to abstain, if the numbers in favour of O'Reilly at the meeting itself already elect the Fine Gael man to his second run at the prestige and financial considerations of being leader of the council.
This would be dependent on the return of Bracken, and the vote of Cllr Seamie Moore, who said last week that he would rearrange his holidays to be able to attend this morning's meeting.
There was no breaking of party ranks in Leixlip this week, where Fianna Fail's Paul Kelly received the full support of his colleagues to the position of Mayor, in a contest against Fine Gael.
And in Newbridge, while Fianna Fail councillor Pat Black was elected unopposed to that council's top position, he used his casting vote to bring party colleague John O'Neill in as deputy Mayor against Fine Gael's Spike Nolan, who ironically had proposed Black for the top job.
Asked last night for a view of the situation in Naas, Charlie Byrne was fatalistic. "A lust for power will likely hold the day," he said.
