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"Vindicated" Keaveney wins
Seanad seat
24.07.07
Inishowen's Cecilia
Keaveney stepped back into the national political
arena last night after winning a seat in the Seanad.
The 38-year old Moville woman who lost her Dail seat
in May, told InishowenNews.com she was thrilled with
her win but said it was not the same as getting a
junior ministry. |
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"Inishowen lost a
junior minister by not getting me elected. I am
totally convinced that I was in line for a junior
ministerial post. And no matter what way you look at
it, a senatorship is not the same as a junior
ministry," she said.
The newly-elected senator took the third seat in the
Education and Cultural panel in a nail-biting finish
that saw her net 131 votes. The win will see her
join 59 other senators in the Upper House of
Parliament.
She said the win was a huge endorsement from Fianna
Fail councillors throughout Ireland, who |
had been "shocked and
disappointed" by her general election defeat. She
said she felt vindicated by the Seanad result.
"I feel very vindicated. I gave everything to being
a TD but at the end of the day if you don't get the
votes, you don't get a seat and in this case,
Inishowen lost out on a junior ministry," she said,
vowing to run again for the Dail in five years time.
As a senator, she will only be allowed to employ one
member of staff locally, compared to two, as a TD.
She said her two former Dail assistants in Moville
"got their P45s" when she lost her seat on May 24th.
As the country's FF councillors were the electorate
in this case, she said her allegiances would now
have to be geographically spread throughout the
country. However, she would continue to work
tirelessly to highlight matters of importance to her
native county and peninsula.
The resilient politician was grinning from
ear-to-ear last night as she celebrated her Seanad
win with around 20 family, friends and supporters
who travelled from Donegal to Dublin for the count.
An "ecstatic" personal friend and Fianna Fail
colleague, Cllr. Marian McDonald was in Dublin for
the celebrations with other party supporters
including Inishowen Electoral Area Chairperson,
Cllr. Rena Donaghey.
Senator Keaveney, meanwhile, said she had received
good wish phonecalls shortly after she was deemed
elected, from party colleagues, Donegal North East
sitting TDs, Deputy Niall Blaney and Deputy James
McDaid. |
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