*Photograph: Joe Buckley
THREE NOMINATIONS have been received by Fianna Fáil ahead of their selection convention to finalise their General Election ticket.
Sitting TD, Cathal Crowe (FF), Senator Timmy Dooley (FF) and Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) have all been put forward by the close of nominations. The trio ran in the 2020 General Election where Dooley lost his seat as first-time candidate Crowe was elected while McInerney was eliminated on the seventh count.
Fianna Fáil may opt to run just two of the three candidates with a directive to be issued from headquarters on the process to follow. This will be outlined at the selection convention, a date for which has yet to be set.
At the recent AGM of the Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáilcheantair in Clare, the strong view was put forward that two candidates need to be selected for the General Election and that the membership needs to row in behind Deputy Crowe and Senator Dooley.
Meelick native Crowe told the AGM, “We can be damn proud of what our councillors are doing and we want to have a convention as soon as possible, the canvassing that follows is way more important”.
He said he was “so proud to be a member of Fianna Fáil” and to have the party in his DNA. “We have a fabulous team of four female councillors and ten fabulous male councillors”.
Senator Dooley told the same meeting, “Cathal and I are on the one wave, it is about getting the party on an even keel to copper fasten what we have achieved in terms of rebuilding the party”.
Dooley added, “we got it wrong in the General Election and I’ve to accept that as we did at the time, we ran three candidates, as the lead person I maybe stood back from areas to allow other candidates to profess, we got it some but wrong but we held our seat. In my view we now have a really good platform to build on”
According to the Mountshannon native, the goal for Fianna Fáil needs to be running and electing two candidates. “We need to return two seats and put Fianna Fáil back in Government whether it is October, November, December or January it really doesn’t matter. All sides have had differences of opinion but they need to be left outside the door going forward. Keep our effort and energies for walking the streets, knocking on the doors and use whatever energy is left to celebrate”.
In a very competitive Kilrush LEA for the local elections, Cllr McInerney topped the poll with 1,340 first preference votes narrowly ahead of Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) with 1,318 and Cllr Dinny Gould (IND) on 1,310.
Since then, she has made history by becoming the first female Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD and she has concluded her term as secretary of the Fianna Fáil Comhairle Dáilcheantair in Clare. The Doonbeg woman has been a strong advocate for trying to increase the investment in West Clare.
