Kathleen Lynch to contest next election despite ‘bruising’ defeat

Former minister of state for disabilities Kathleen Lynch is to put her name forward to run in the Cork North Central constituency in the coming weeks and said she has the full backing of Labour headquarters.

Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Co Wexford at the weekend, Ms Lynch said last year’s election defeat was bruising and that to “deny that would be to try to fool yourself”.

However, she said she believes she still has a “valuable contribution” to make and that her decision to seek a Dáil return is “pretty clear-cut”.