Michael Fahy

Fahy owned a 70-acre farm and prior to his trial worked as a salesman for New Ireland Assurance. He ran in Galway West as an independent in the 1987 general election, but later rejoined Fianna Fáil. In the 2004 local elections, Fahy was criticised for using thousands of prepaid Oireachtas envelopes to write to voters. He said "I wanted to show I had the support of the Oireachtas members and if I hadn't done it like the other candidates, it would seem like I didn't have the same clout." The judge at his 2007 trial alluded to Fahy's "quite extensive property assets of great value"; =="Stroke" nickname==

Fahy acquired the nickname "Stroke" (Irish slang for a sly political manoeuvre) in the 1970s from a local journalist after he convinced the Fianna Fáil national executive to add his name to the local election ticket when the local party had left it out. ==Misappropriation conviction==

In 2002–03, a road beside Fahy's farm was being widened, using funds allocated from the Community Involvement Scheme. Fahy later claimed in court that he had a verbal agreement to supply an equivalent value of rubble from his farm for the roadworks. The contractor was paid by the council in 2002 for an invoice of €7,055, and submitted another invoice in 2003 for €7,523. • Obtaining by false pretences contrary to section 2 of the Larceny Act 1916 as amended by the Larceny Act 1990 • Attempted theft contrary to section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 and common law (two counts) • Attempting to make a gain or cause a loss by deception contrary to section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 and common law (two counts) • False accounting by production or making use of a document contrary to section 10(1)(c) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 (two counts) On 20 March 2007 he was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and fined €75,000. The judge criticised Fahy for attempting to implicate other councillors and the fencing contractor in his actions. Fahy was given two weeks to get his affairs in order and make provision for his dependent mother. He also launched an appeal. He was taken from hospital to prison on 23 April 2007. Fahy remained a county councillor. The judge had suggested he should be disqualified under subsection 13(1)(m)(i) of the Local Government Act 2001 for "fraudulent or dishonest dealings affecting a local authority"; While section 18(4)(a) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that councillors are deemed to have resigned if they fail to attend meetings for six months, section 18(4)(b)(ii) allows the council to make an exception where the absence was "in good faith for another reason [besides illness]". The council decided not to move against him pending his appeal. On the register of panel electors for the 2007 Seanad election, his address was listed as "c/o Mr. Daniel J. Scannell, Governor, Castlerea Prison, Harristown, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon"; he is believed to be the first person to vote from prison in the Seanad elections. Fahy received the full annual representative pay allowance of €16,600 for the year 2007, although his conference expenses were only €3,700, for conferences attended prior to his imprisonment. ==Quashing of conviction and subsequent career==

On 28 November 2007, the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that evidence that Fahy had claimed to have been offered €3.8m for a field was irrelevant and thus inadmissible; and further that it was prejudicial as it did not note that the field had been inherited, and thus allowed the inference that "wealth apparently so disproportionate to his income and station in life was not acquired honestly." Senator Terry Leyden was quoted as "delighted" with the decision. He launched another appeal, Fahy was re-elected to Galway county council in the 2009 local elections, topping the poll in the Loughrea local electoral area (LEA). In October 2009, a man was convicted of attempting to extort €5,000 from Fahy by claiming to have tapes of politicians planning to oust or murder Fahy. Fahy was re-elected at the 2014 local elections to Galway county Council. He said afterwards he was considering rejoining Fianna Fáil. He rejoined Fianna Fáil in 2018, and at the time of his death had been selected to run for the party in Gort/Kinvara LEA in the May 2019 local elections. ==References==