Sherlock had ‘no issue’ with McCarthy standing for Labour

Minister of state Seán Sherlock has insisted he never stood in the way of a now former Labour Party county councillor becoming his running mate on the general election ticket.

The Cork East TD made his comments in the wake of claims by Cllr Noel McCarthy that he defected to Fine Gael as he was not going to get the opportunity to put himself forward as a Dáil candidate with Labour.

Mr Sherlock said he had been “quite relaxed” by the prospect of Cllr McCarthy being his running mate and that the councillor had two opportunities to put his name forward as a candidate, but declined both times.

He said the party’s constitutional council held a strategy meeting in Cobh on April 23, and, at that time, Cllr McCarthy had stated there should only be one candidate on the ballot paper and that he was backing Mr Sherlock.

“In May, the party’s candidate board sent down emissaries from Dublin and it was my understanding that again he said ‘no’. I didn’t block him,” Mr Sherlock told Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1.

“I have to take it in good faith that he didn’t want to stand [for Labour]. I want it to be known publicly I had no issue with Noel McCarthy standing for Labour.”

A minister of state in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Sherlock said that, despite the national opinion polls showing the Labour Party at just 7%, he believed the party’s vote would hold up far better in his Cork East constituency.

“We’re doing a lot stronger in the constituency and the economy is turning around,” he said.

Cllr McCarthy left the Labour Party six weeks ago and decided to join the Independent benches on Cork County Council.

Rumours that he was being courted by Fine Gael surfaced in recent weeks and, last weekend, the main government party confirmed Cllr McCarthy was going to run as a general election candidate for the party in the constituency, alongside sitting TDs David Stanton and Tom Barry.

Cllr McCarthy got one of the highest votes nationally in the 2014 local elections with 3,500 first-preference votes.

The off-licence owner has a massive presence in his adopted town of Fermoy, and is also popular in his birthplace in Cobh which also happens to be in the Cork East constituency.

He would be expected to increase his vote in the general election but whether it would be enough to get him a Dáil seat remains to be seen.

Cllr McCarthy has said he did not have the money to mount a challenge for a seat as an Independent.

He may lose some votes because of his decision to leave Labour, but pick up others thanks to the support of the Fine Gael machine.

He is also ideally placed in the middle of the constituency, with Tom Barry in Mallow and David Stanton in Midleton.

He will be formally inducted into the Fine Gael benches in Cork County Council on December 14.