Sadness at Bruton's exit goes beyond party faithful

John Bruton's defeat as Fine Gael leader was "worse than Meath losing the Sam Maguire", according to a long-time supporter, William Carey.

A Fine Gael councillor since 1967, Mr Carey has known the former leader all his political life, but did not attempt to contact him after Wednesday night's vote. "I hadn't the heart. What the hell would I say? I'm sure he wants to be left alone," he said.

There was disbelief locally that it had come to this, and concern about the county's loss of influence, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, notwithstanding, Mr Carey added.

"It's just a pity he [Mr Bruton] couldn't seem to kick with people outside Co Meath. But it's good that he's said he'll run in the next election, and hopefully there will be a job for him in government."

Praising the "tremendous list of benefits" brought to Co Meath by Mr Bruton, Mr Carey mentioned the planned Navan business park, the Navan ring road and Trim courthouse, among others. "All those things are coming to fruition now, and Noel Dempsey's going to get a lot of the glory", he said.

Another party councillor in Meath, Sean Lynch, admitted that there had been "mixed reaction" to the heave. "There is disappointment with the way it happened, to a man of such obvious integrity. But some people would have been worried that under his leadership we seemed to have lost the ability to make hay while the sun was shining," he said.

He added: "He was a good Taoiseach and a good local TD, but people looking at the global picture would have been concerned at his failure to connect, especially with young people.

"It's like crying over spilt milk now, anyway. I suppose people are just a bit miffed that we're not going to have a Taoiseach from Meath again in the foreseeable future."

The experience of being Taoiseach had inevitably distanced Mr Bruton a bit from the local electorate, but meeting people had never been his strongest point, Mr Lynch said.

He added: "He wouldn't have been as glad-handing as other politicians, people who can hoover the room. He was more reserved than that. He was a policy man, a man of tremendous intellect, and he probably suffered for that in the end."

One of Mr Bruton's acts as Taoiseach had been to secure a £500,000 allocation for Navan's swimming pool. The planned refurbishment of the old pool was subsequently deemed unviable and a new £5 million facility was opened last September by Mr Dempsey. But the former Taoiseach still gets the credit for giving it a start.

"His role was remembered at the opening, and I think he appreciated that", said the club secretary, Catherine Webster. "We ran a very comprehensive campaign, emphasising that the pool would not be just for the benefit of a few exclusive groups, but for underprivileged people, too.

"He was very interested in that. His support was not just a political thing. He was very fair-minded."

Ms Webster added that the disappointment at the removal of Mr Bruton from leadership of the party extended well beyond Fine Gael circles. "It's only natural. He was a local man who showed a lot of interest in the area, despite all the other things he had to do. He looked after his own corner."