Billy Hillis campaign launch

Billy Hillis (second from right) with Alan Dukes, Fintan Brett and Jacinta O'Sullivan (candidates), and  Deputies Martin Heydon and Tony Lawlor.

To get the kind of ringing endorsements from a former Leader of the Fine Gael party and two of its sitting TDs that Billy Hillis received last night could go to any election candidate's head, writes Brian Byrne.

But Billy Hillis isn't that way, and that was the underscoring made by Alan Dukes as he launched Billy's campaign in The Stray Inn in Mile Mill. Describing his work as a councillor over three terms as 'exemplary', he noted Billy's respect for everybody's personality and opinion, 'whether they're Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein, Independents ... or something even worse than all those put together'.

"He has a straightforward dedication to everything that he does," the former FG Leader continued. "And that was shown even when he was seriously ill, he never missed a Council meeting. He was known on occasion to leave a meeting, go for his chemo treatment, and then come back to the meeting. That was one measure of his dedication."

He noted that the candidate 'never goes in for hyperbole', or the kind of inflated 'Armageddon' language too often observed in national politics. "Billy's approach is what we need in politics today, people prepared to look at the facts, examine the pros and cons, and then deal with the situation accordingly. Given the new responsibilities which councillors will have, I think that's more important than ever."

He concluded by emphasising that support for all four of the party's candidates in the Naas Area be sought in the canvassing. "That's the best chance we have of getting them in."

Deputy Martin Heydon of Kildare South said the areas around Kilcullen, Brannockstown, Two Mile House and Ballymore are 'absolutely crucial' in this election. "With the upgrading of the councils to have municipal powers, it is extremely important that candidates like Billy Hillis and his colleagues be returned to Kildare County Council to make the most of the new responsibilities."

As the Naas area straddles two Dail constituencies, Deputy Tony Lawlor was also there to support the candidate's launch. Noting that it was Billy who persuaded him to run for the Council in 2009 when the electoral area was changed, he said he would not be there last night as a TD for Kildare North otherwise. He promised the full availability of his constituency office to support the campaign of all four FG candidates in the municipal area.

For himself, Billy Hillis says he's running again partly because he just loves local politics, but also because he believes the Kilcullen/Ballymore sections of the electoral area must have a representative who lives in their locality. While new residents have changed the demographic of the area since he was last elected, he's confident that his traditional method of 'quietly meeting with everyone' will work to his advantage.

As for the new Council, he notes that the authority will now be responsible for raising most of its own funding, and thus will need to have members 'with backbone'. "When the responsibility is given back to the councillors, then they'll have to take responsibility for it. It's not going to be easy, and it's not going to be like when I was last in the Council Chair and members left meetings when awkward decisions had to be made, later claiming they wouldn't have voted for what went through."

He concluded by recounting what a 'wag' said to him after the party convention which appointed him to this campaign. "He said, 'you can't have done too much wrong while you were a councillor, because it took two TDs to replace you'."

Like all witticisms, it's the kernel of truth in them that makes them work.