A FIANNA Fail councillor from Co Offaly who describes himself as “a good mate of Brian Cowen” was appointed to the board of An Post on Tuesday, the last day of the Fianna Fail government.
Peter Ormond, who failed to be chosen as a Dail candidate for Fianna Fail at a selection convention for the Laois-Offaly constituency in February, was appointed by Pat Carey, who has been acting minister for communications since the resignation of Eamon Ryan.
Members of the board of An Post received €16,000 in fees in 2009, plus expenses, according to the company’s annual report. Ormond already sits on the Education Finance Board, a state agency. He is also a member of the Midland Regional Authority through his role as a councillor.
Ormond had been tipped to run for Fianna Fail in the general election, but lost out when party strategists decided to run two candidates from Laois — John Moloney and Seán Fleming — and only one from Offaly. Barry Cowen, a brother of the former taoiseach, was chosen as the sole Offaly candidate.
The Laois Nationalist reported there was “murder among the Offaly crowd” when the party decided to run only one Offaly candidate. But following his elimination, Ormond gave an “incredibly gracious speech”, according to the Offaly Express.
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Barry Cowen and Fleming were eventually elected as TDs and Moloney failed to hold his seat. Ormond, an auctioneer from Birr, topped the poll in the local elections in 2009. There is a photograph on the website of Offaly county council of Brian Cowen congratulating Ormond on his election as a councillor.
Yesterday Ormond said his work on the Midland Regional Authority and three years on the Education Finance Board qualified him to become a director of An Post.
Ormond was previously credited with coming up with the idea of Brian Cowen bringing photographs of a church and schoolhouse in Moneygall to the White House when he visited President Barack Obama in 2009. “I’m a good mate of Brian Cowen’s,” he told the Irish Daily Mirror at the time. “I know he’s thrilled Mr Obama may be coming to Ireland.”