HOUSEHOLDERS IN DUNDRUM and Windy Arbour were left bemused last week, after ‘keeping in touch’ leaflets were dropped through doors on behalf of local councillor Pat Hand.

The notes contained a brief message from the area representative, and also included a list of the Fine Gael team in the constituency.

However, there was a pretty obvious gap between the names of ‘Alan Shatter TD’ and ‘Olivia Mitchell TD’ — the councillor had clearly resorted to stop-gap measures in a bid to remove the only trace of ex-Fine Gael Deputy Peter Mathews:

[Image: Daragh Brophy]

The councillor, who is based in Balinteer, told TheJournal.ie he had decided to deliver the last leaflets of a batch he had printed in the wake of the 2011 general election.

Mathews was elected on the Fine Gael ticket in Dublin South in that ballot — but is now one of the party’s most high-profile ‘rebels’ after he defied the party on the Protection of Life Bill last summer.

He has since resigned his membership entirely, and is one of the Reform Alliance ‘loose grouping’ of TDs.

Hand said he had been “saddened” by Mathews defection from the party, but that he still had a “lot or respect” for the constituency TD.

“I had these printed already though — and I had a handy blue marker, so I just went through them all and crossed out the name,” Hand said.

The Councillor said he was expected new posters and leaflets to be delivered in the coming weeks as the local and Eurpoean election campaigns gather pace in the area.

Related: Fine Gael removes Lucinda Creighton references from councillor’s newsletter

More: Now you see her…Creighton disappears from Fine Gael website