FF county councillor not seeking re-election

A Fianna Fáil county councillor has criticised his party for its local election strategy and says he won’t be seeking re-election.

Beara-based councillor Danny Crowley, 49, who is the party whip for Fianna Fáil on the council, has notified party leader Micheál Martin of his decision.

He had already been selected by the party to contest next June’s elections, but confirmed yesterday that he was instead standing down.

“I have indicated to our director of elections, Michael Moynihan (TD), that I don’t think it’s wise to run six Fianna Fáil candidates for the eight seats which will be available in West Cork. It’s not realistic because I don’t think that kind of support is there for the party,” the married father-of-three said.

His decision will come as a blow to the party as he was the poll-topper in the Bantry area in 2009.

“I have enjoyed my time as a public representative serving the people of West Cork over the last 10 years and the cross party support which I received at election time. It’s a great honour for any candidate to represent their community at local authority level and I did appreciate the trust and opportunity which was given to me by constituents in the Bantry electoral area.”

He said he would in future be concentrating all his efforts on his job with the Cork Education and Training Board.

“In the coming weeks, I will try and meet my many supporters and canvassers to thank them personally for their unwavering support throughout the last 10 years,” he said.

Meanwhile, it’s understood Cllr Pa O’Driscoll (FG) has informed his colleagues that he won’t be seeking re-election either.

The teacher, who lives in Rathcormac, said he would not be making any comment on his future until the party holds its local selection convention in Fermoy on Nov 3. Nominations close on Oct 14.

One man who is seeking re-election next June is Cllr John Paul O’Shea (Ind).

The Lombardstown-based councillor has confirmed that he is taking a three-year leave of absence from his job in the communications department of HSE South.

“There are days when I find it hard to do both jobs and local politics is very demanding,” the 30-year-old said. “The number of councillors in that combined area will now be reduced from nine to six, so it will be a major, full-time job for anybody who’s lucky enough to be elected.

“Therefore I thought now was a good time for me to make the decision,” he said.