Noonan to contest general election

Former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan and Cllr Kieran O’Donnell will contest the next general election for Fine Gael in the Limerick East constituency.

Both candidates secured party nominations in the Fine Gael selection convention attended by up to 1,000 members of the party at the Greenhills Hotel in Limerick.

As expected, first-time candidate Cllr O’Donnell topped the poll on the first count with 277 votes while Michael Noonan secured 255 votes and had to wait for the second count to reach the quota.

A nephew of former Fine Gael MEP and TD Tom O’Donnell, Castletroy-based accountant Kieran O'Donnell was expected to draw wide support from both rural and urban areas.

Michael Noonan will be attempting to retain the seat he currently holds in the four-seat Limerick East constituency in the next general election.

The other unsuccessful candidates in last night’s vote were Cllr Mary Harty who secured 108 votes and the current Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Diarmuid Scully with 160 votes. Cllr Scully’s controversial decision to vote against the official Fine Gael candidate in the mayoral election was widely believed to have damaged any chance of securing a party nomination.

Meanwhile, the Fianna Fáil selection convention in Limerick East is due to take place on December 3 next.