FG councillors to battle it out for Dáil nomination
Councillor Patrick ‘Pa’ O’Driscoll, who is based in Rathcormac, at the northern end of the constituency, has said that he will also seek a nomination.
Last week Councillor Tom Barry, who lives nearby in Killavullen, said he wanted to replace Senator Paul Bradford on the ticket.
He said it was time to let somebody else run for the Dáil because Mr Bradford had failed to capture a seat during the last two general elections.
Mr O’Driscoll, however, said he would like to see Mr Bradford included on a three-man ticket alongside himself and sitting TD David Stanton, who is based in Midleton.
O’Driscoll, who is expected to be elected as Mayor of Fermoy tomorrow night, has repeatedly criticised councillors’ expenses and the size of some of the council committees.
The 27-year-old teacher was elected to Cork County Council on his first attempt last year.
His election was made all the more impressive as he topped the poll in the Fermoy Electoral Area, ahead of Cllr Kevin O’Keeffe, the son of sitting TD Ned O’Keeffe.
“I will be contesting the convention because I have something to offer,” said Mr O’Driscoll.
“This election will be about policies and credibility, not about personalities.
“As a member of the generation bearing the brunt of the economic collapse I understand the pain and the issues and I’m not afraid to put forward solutions,” he said.
The recent opinion polls would suggest that Fine Gael are unlikely to dislodge Labour’s only sitting TD, Mallow-based Sean Sherlock.
So to make any gains the party will have to target the Fianna Fáil seats of Mitchelstown-based Ned O’Keeffe and Michael Ahern, who lives in Carrigtwohill.
From the late 1970s into the late 1980s Fine Gael held three of the four constituency seats, with Paddy Hegarty and the father and daughter team of Dick and Myra Barry.
