In Co Kerry, political family rifts have a whiff of Civil War history. And in Tralee, capital of the Kingdom, little else was being spoken about following a now-notorious Radio Kerry interview in which Michael Healy-Rae said he was “pulled overboard” by his brother Danny.The Healy-Raes, who live at either end of the same village – three councillors and two TDs – all give their address as Kilgarvan in the old Kerry South constituency. In reality, though, Danny and Michael’s Kingdom has long been divided, territorially. “Team Healy-Rae” is a lot wider than the village of Kilgarvan – and bigger, these days, than the family. Danny and his two councillor children – Maura in Killarney municipal district (MD), and Johnny in Kenmare MD – are still rooted in the old base of the family patriarch Jackie Healy-Rae Snr, who snatched a seat as an Independent against the odds in Kerry South in 1997.Michael and his son Jackie, a councillor in Castleisland MD, have grafted themselves on to the former Kerry North. In Tralee, Michael has a firm foothold.The division of the Kingdom was dreamt up after Kerry became a single constituency in 2016. Then councillor Danny, aware of TD Tom Fleming’s decision not to run again, threw his hat into the ring on the eve of the close of nominations, surprising everyone. A map was duly produced – first preference votes were sought, roughly, in the old north for Michael and in the south for Danny with No 2 transfers going to each brother. Today, Team Healy-Rae is no longer confined to family. Five councillors sit together on the back row of the council chamber, the Healy-Raes and two affiliates. And this week, in the aftermath of Michael’s Radio Kerry interview in which he explained his reasons for resigning from his junior minister position, both nailed their colours firmly to his mast. “We were very upset when we saw Michael on the day [of his resignation from Government]. He had no alternative but to go,” said Michael loyalist and Tralee-based councillor Sam Locke.There is also the sadness of brothers arguing – but that can be resolved with time, Locke thinks.[ Explosive radio interview shows split in Kerry dynasty Opens in new window ]“I hate to see brothers fight. All families have arguments from time to time.” But for now, Locke said he would find it very hard to vote No 2 for Danny.“There is only one Healy-Rae in the north – Michael,” he said. Locke holds Tralee clinics, often alongside Michael, on Thursday afternoons at the Kerins O’Rahillys clubhouse. Sometimes 50 people from Tralee turn up with their issues. Months before the 2016 general election, Locke, already an established councillor, had been dealing with Michael on medical card and housing issues. When Michael asked him to come on board to canvass, Locke readily agreed, managing his campaign and overseeing local problems. And seeking No 2 votes for Danny.“I would be very slow in promoting Danny at this stage,” he said. The second Healy-Rae affiliate, first-time councillor Liam “Speedy” Nolan, who stormed to a seat in the Listowel MD in the last local elections, is also “110 per cent” behind Michael.“He had a very bright future in forestry. It was a two-for-one deal to get a ministerial role and he had no choice,” Nolan said of the resignation. There was, he felt, also some blame for Micheál Martin, and Michael caught between a rock and a hard place on the fuel protests. But Nolan would not totally blame the Taoiseach either – there was, he said, a war on and the fuel crisis had its roots in a “way wider issue than the leader of our country”, Nolan said. So, would he blame Danny Healy-Rae for the loss of the ministry to Kerry?“The only thing I would say [is] if you make a deal with a government and you have a partner in that deal – before you go on media platforms, the team should have been consulted.”In Killarney on Thursday, however, supporters of Danny were sceptical of Michael’s claims that he was pulled overboard by his brother. They point to a different Radio Kerry interview days after Michael’s resignation in which his son Jackie jnr flatly denied he had to leave his post because Danny was going to vote against the Government. “Unfortunately, where the stumbling block came was [Michael’s] confidence in [the Taoiseach].” His father was a messenger for the people, Jackie jnr explained, and to do anything else would not have been true to himself.He did not agree his father was “pulled overboard” – the reality was, he said, that the brothers voted differently already and, in essence, the two-for-one arrangement had been broken months ago. Tim Coffey, a long time Healy-Rae ally from Killarney, was in the Dáil with the Healy-Rae family when Michael announced his resignation. “I got a real shock,” he said. In his resignation speech, Michael blamed Micheál Martin and said he was influenced by people he met in a pub the night before. “There was no mention of Danny,” Coffey said.Danny himself told no one how he was going to vote in the confidence motion. When asked by the media and his own family, Danny did not reveal what he was going to do.“I was completely shocked when I heard him on the show with [host] Jerry O’Sullivan, saying it was Danny’s statement that [Fine Gael leader Simon] Harris and Martin should resign was the cause of his own resignation,” Coffey said. “Sure half the Fianna Fáil backbenchers have been saying that [for the last] two years.” Supporters of Danny were upset by Michael’s comments, believing he had hurt what the late Jackie Healy-Rae snr had built. “It was completely uncalled for. Danny never said at any stage how he was going to vote.” Personally, Coffey added, “I am very hurt at what [Michael] said.”He believes Michael felt he made a mistake and regretted his decision, as Martin more or less said he would not have asked him to resign. The real reason, he suspects, is “he didn’t want Danny to have the advantage with the supporters”.Elsewhere in Killarney, where Danny and his family would be likely to edge Michael in popularity, people echoed Coffey’s views – that Michael’s radio interview was at odds with what he and Jackie jnr had said in previous statements and interviews.“He is saying he was pulled overboard – but he was already gone overboard himself,” said one supporter of Danny, requesting anonymity. “Michael should have stayed as a minister and let Micheál Martin sack him. But when you think of it, why would any government sack a rural minister who was doing well for the government?”