Galway Advertiser 2004/2004_06_03/GA_0306_E1_034.pdf 

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34 N E W S

Galway Advertiser

June 3 2004

POLITICAL PROUST
ANDREW HAMILTON

You've heard the issues, you've seen the posters and now it's time to meet the candidates but with a twist. KERNAN ANDREWS and ANDREW HAMILTON use the Advertiser's famous Proust Questionnaire to help you get to really know the candidates in next week's city and county council elections. Labour's Colm Keaveney
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Election day. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Dr Noel Browne. Which living person do you most admire? My father. Which is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Competitiveness and single mindedness. What is your greatest extravagance? Guinness - after the latest price hike. What is your favourite journey? Home. On what occasion do you lie? The truth can hurt, you know! Which living person do you most despise? George W Bush. What or who is the greatest love of your life? My wife Deirdre and sons Luke and Liam. When and where were you happiest? My days as a student activist. Which talent would you most like to have? Musical. What is your current state of mind? Focused. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Returning to college as an adult. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? A lion. What is your most treasured possession? The powers of persuasion. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? To be unloved. What is your favourite occupation? Canvassing. What is the quality you most like in a man? Frankness.

KERNAN ANDREWS

Fine Gael's Neil McNelis
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Catching up with old friends and no holds barred with the slagging. Which historical figure do you most identify with? John F Kennedy. Which living person do you most admire? My parents - Vincent and Mary Which is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Impatience. What is your greatest extravagance? Newspapers and books. What is your favourite journey? A trip up Lough Corrib. On what occasion do you lie? The last couple of months on phone to my wife Aideen: "I'll be home in five minutes when I finish this `last' house on the canvess!!" Which living person do you most despise? Ian Huntley. What or who is the greatest love of your life? Aideen who is my wife, business partner and best friend. When and where were you happiest? Renmore Garrisson Church, January 3 2003 2pm - my wedding day. Which talent would you most like to have? Knowing more than just the first verse and chorus of every song. What is your current state of mind? Determined. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Having two retail shops at 31 years of age. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? A Guardian Angel. What is your most treasured possession? My All Ireland Athletics Medal. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Feeling you have nowhere to turn to. What is your favourite occupation? Helping someone mentioned in last answer. What is the quality you most like in a man? Straight talking with no hidden agenda What is the quality you most like in a woman? Straight talking with no hidden agenda.

Who are your favourite writers? Michael Moore, HV Morton, Peter Cunningham. What is your motto? I dont really have a motto as I believe you should take the knocks just as well as you take the successes life throws at you. But this really is my favourite: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" (Special Olympics Oath). Neil McNelis is a Fine Gael candidate for the North & East Ward.

What is the quality you most like in a woman? Evasiveness. Who are your favourite writers? Pat Mc Cabe and Leon Trotsky What is your motto? He who dare wins! Colm Keaveney is a Labour candidate for the Tuam Area. ANDREW HAMILTON

Labour's Nuala O' Hara
What is your idea of perfect happiness? To be on holiday in Achill island in glorious weather with family and friends, within sight, sound, and smell of the Atlantic. Which historical figure do you most admire? St Patrick. He came to our shores under duress. He worked as a slave and learned our language. He came back as a free and learned man. He confronted authority, ignorance and superstition. nd also the pioneering ecumenical nun who overcame all kinds of obstacles to establish the Foxford Woollen Mills when poverty and emigration was rife in Mayo, an enterprise that has survived to this day. Which living person do you most admire? John Hume, for his courage, tenacity, selflessness, humanity and honesty - a great Irishman. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Lacking confidence at times. What is your greatest extravagance? Nice shoes. What is your favourite journey? From Galway to Achill Island via Connemara. On what occasion do you lie? I've given up trying because my obvious embarrassment has always given me away. Which living person do you most despise? Any person who betrays a position of trust. What or who is the greatest love of your life?

The greatest love of my life was my husband, Hugh, who tragically died very young. Our son, Alex is

my pride and joy. I love nature, literature, music, and dancing. When and where were you happiest? On Fisherman's Island - Isola Pescatori on Lake Maggiori in northern Italy in 1979. Which talent would you most like to have? To be a brilliant poet. What is your current state of mind? Excited. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Raising my son Alex, as a lone parent while teaching full time and caring for elderly, invalided parents. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? Once is enough don't you think? What is your most treasured possession? A note written to me by Hugh on a scrap of paper from his hospital bed

on my birthday. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? A loss of hope. What is your favourite occupation? Reading. What is the quality you most like in a man? Wit and integrity. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Wit and integrity. Who are your favourite writers? Poets; Seamus Heaney, Patrick Kavanagh and Michael Hartnett. Seamus Deane's novel Reading in the Dark and Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry. What is your Motto? Never say die. Nuala O Hara is a Labour candidate in Galway's North and East Ward. ANDREW HAMILTON

Fine Gael's Brian Walsh
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Relaxing in the company of family and friends. Which historical figure do you most identify with? Michael Collins. Which living person do you most admire? Former Mayor of New York Rudolf Giuliani Which is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My tendency to be impatient. What is your greatest extravagance? I like to have a little bet on the horses now and again. What is your favourite journey? To John Mulholland's on the rare occasions I have a winner. On what occasion do you lie? As little as possible however this questionnaire is challenging that.

Which living person do you most despise? I can't say there's anyone I know personally whom I despise, however there is a number of people whose methods I disagree with - Bin Laden, Saddam, and Bush to a lesser degree. What or who is the greatest love of your life? That would be a close call between my girlfriend Fiona and my mother, with the former just heading it on the line! When and where were you happiest? As a child growing up without a care in the world. Which talent would you most like to have? I'd like to be able to play a musical instrument. What is your current state of mind? Stressed but focussed. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Being elected Students Union President during my time in GMIT If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what do you think it would be? A fly on the wall in lots of places.

What is your most treasured possession? My health and good friends. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being alone with no one to care for you. What is your favourite occupation? Going on holidays and visiting new places. What is the quality you most like in a man? Honesty and good humour. What is the quality you most like in a woman? As above. Who are your favourite writers? I tend to read a lot of biographies. I like to read sports writer Alistair Down. What is your motto? Honesty is always the best policy. Brian Walsh is a Fine Gael candidate for the North & East Ward.