Mayor to seek Fine Gael nomination

THE Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Diarmuid Scully confirmed last night he intends to seek a Fine Gael nomination to fight the next general election in Limerick East.

Mr Scully has lost the FG whip on Limerick City Council after breaking party ranks to defeat the nominated FG candidate for the mayoralty last June.

However, he remains a member of Fine Gael and is eligible to seek a general election nomination.

Fine Gael will select two candidates at the Limerick East convention which will be held on November 27.

It is expected that Michael Noonan TD, will be joined on the ticket by Cllr Kieran O’Donnell, a member of Limerick County Council and nephew of former Fine Gael minister, Tom O’Donnell.

Mr Scully said: “I expect Michael Noonan and Kieran O’Donnell will get the two nominations at conventions. But if I can come third I think there will be a strong case for adding my name after convention.”

He said that Fine Gael have won two of the five seats in Limerick East when they stood three candidates.

Mr Scully is a member of the St Patrick’s St Brigid’s FG branch, the biggest in the city, with more than 180 members.

While Limerick East has become a more urban constituency due to the growth of the city, most votes at the selection convention are held by rural branches in the county.

Mr Scully pipped Cllr Maria Byrne by nine votes to eight at the mayoral election with the backing of the independent members.

Fine Gael party headquarters carried out an investigation into the matter and stripped the mayor of the party whip on the council for opposing Ms Byrne, the selected FG nominee.

Labour have already selected Jan O’Sullivan TD to fight to keep the party seat at the next election.