Polish native to contest Tullamore Town Council elections

A Polish man has been selected by Fine Gael to run as a candidate for Tullamore Town Council in the forthcoming elections, so far the only non-national to contest the elections in Offaly. Tomasz Axkuntowicz joins sitting councillors Molly Buckley and Tommy McKeigue, and new candidates Patrick Kelly and Vincent O"Brien, on the Fine Gael ticket. The party has selected five candidates in a bid to win four seats out of the nine-seater council. They currently hold three seats. 'This is my 10th election between town and county and I"m looking forward to it,' said Cllr Tommy McKeigue. 'We"re hoping to win four seats, we have three already that"s an all-time high and we"re in a pact with Labour and want to continue on our success. Anything less than four seats would not be considered a win.' Cllr Richard Egan was nominated to stand but withdrew his nomination on the night. He said that it had been a privilege to serve on Tullamore Town Council for the past five years, however he is returning to third-level studies. Both Cllrs McKeigue and Buckley paid tribute to him. Tomasz has been resident in Tullamore, Co Offaly, for several years. He worked in the construction industry and has personal experience of the recession as he"s currently only working part-time. He"s married to Barbara and has two children who attend Scoil Mhuire. He"s been also a member of the Tullamore Parish Council for the past three years. Family values and a contribution to voluntary and community work are the basis of what Tomasz stands for. 'I"ve no political background but I want to help the community here, both Polish and Irish. I want to encourage people to get involved in the local community, I also want to work with young people... If teenagers are out of work and on the streets, we need to give them something to do,' he said. People"s attitudes to migrant workers here is also something he would like to tackle. 'The Polish or other migrants are not to blame for the recession. I want to explain to people that we need to work together, I don"t think that the more unemployment there is there should be hate against others in society... I want my kids to grow up in a nice town where people are friendly.' He thinks that the recession means that people should now reassess what"s important to them in life and thinks that those who are unemployed could help out in the community and volunteer groups. He is now working with Fine Gael to try and get an extra 500 voters on to the register. Since returning home from America a few years ago, Patrick Kelly has become heavily involved in local sporting groups. He was a manager in # 1 Church Street when it was a bar/restaurant and now runs a security company in the town. He was also a member of the VEC. Vincent O"Brien is a full-time farmer from Derrybeg whose family have been long-time Fine Gael supporters. 'Tullamore is my local town, it"s where I do my business, it"s my parish and I went to school there. As a newcomer I hope to have a fresh approach to the council,' said Vincent. 'There"s lots of issues around the town I"d love to tackle. There"s no point in sitting on the outside and saying this or that needs to be done. Can I make the changes that can bring the town forward?' He said that there are many issues within Tullamore that he"d like to address, such as housing and development. He"d like to introduce measures to ensure that all housing estates are completed fully as set in the planning conditions, and that all the facilities needed are put in place by developers. He also said there are many traffic management issues in the town that need to be tackled. There is one more final selection convention to be held by Fine Gael for Edenderry Town Council. This will be held within the next few weeks. 'The Fine Gael team will present a dynamic choice for Fine Gael in the town with the wealth of experience of Cllr Tommy McKeigue and Cllr Molly Buckley along with the enthusiasm and determination of the remaining three candidates, Tomasz Axkuntowicz, Patrick Kelly, and Vincent O"Brien,' said Deputy Olwyn Enright.