*Timmy Dooley TD (FF), Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) and Cllr Pat Hayes (FF). Photograph: Joe Buckley
ELECTION fever appears to have taken effect in Clare with a number of county councillors now entering the fray for the upcoming Seanad Elections.
To date there are two confirmed Clare candidates for the Seanad elections which will take place next month but the figure is likely to rise.
Senator Martin Conway (FG) has secured a nomination from Vision Ireland to try retain his seat on the Administrative Panel. The Ennistymon man has been on the Administrative Panel since 2011, he was an unsuccessful General Election candidate in 2020 and opted not to go forward for a Dáil Éireann bid this year.
Conway told The Clare Echo following the General Election outcome, “one can only be disappointed from a county point of view that there is no TD from North Clare, West Clare or Ennis elected. I’m hoping to address that by retaining my Seanad seat and serving as a voice for North Clare”.
Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) is running for a seat on the Industrial and Commercial Panel and he has secured a nomination from the Irish Road Hauliers Association. Last October, he made his return to politics when he was selected as a Fine Gael candidate in the Shannon Municipal District for the local elections, he took the seventh and final seat in the Shannon MD in June and was one of three candidates not to reach the quota.
Mulcahy has previous experience in the Seanad and served as a Senator from 2011 to 2016. He is a former Mayor of Clare and ran for the General Election in 2007 and 2011.
Ennistymon woman Ann Marie Flanagan (IND) a former Green Party member has received a nomination from Independent Living Movement Ireland for the Administrative Panel. The disability rights campaigner is bidding to become the first disabled female Senator. She holds an MSc in Partnership and Public Administration and has studied an LLM in International Disability policy & Human Rights Policy and Law.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, Ann Marie said, “The Care Referendum in March exposed the lack of understanding of a rights-based approach in policy, funding and legislation about disabled children, adults and families. Disabled people and Families feel ignored when political parties discuss key issues and do not mention them, such as the housing crisis. There are thousands of young Disabled people trapped in nursing homes and outdated congregated buildings”.
The Clare Echo understands that Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Cllr John Crowe (FG) and Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) are all interested in running for the Seanad and may yet appear as candidates. Leonora Carey (FG) has been linked as a potential candidate efforts to contact the Clarecastle woman on Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Deputy Leader of the Green Party, Roisin Garvey (GP) who was nominated to the Seanad for the last term has yet to declare her intentions.
Proposals for nominations to the vocational panels by nominating bodies must be submitted by December 18th while the deadline for nominations by Oireachtas members is December 31st. The Seanad Returning Officer will complete the panels of candidates on January 8th.
