*Clare’s Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members, Cathal Crowe TD & Senator Timmy Dooley take a selfie with the party’s councillors in the Shannon MD, Pat O’Gorman, Rachel Hartigan and David Griffin.
FIANNA FÁIl are gearing up for the General Election as they set their eyes on reclaiming a second seat in Co Clare.
Nominations have opened among the party membership for an upcoming selection convention to finalise the Fianna Fáil ticket for the next General Election.
No date has been set for either the convention or the Election and while party leaders are insisting the Government intends to go full-term, Oireachtas members in the county are anticipating polling day is fifteen weeks away.
General Secretary of Fianna Fáil, Sean Dorgan issued correspondence to party members advising them that nominations have opened for the upcoming selection convention in Clare and that the deadline for these is 5pm on Wednesday July 24th.
Consultation has yet to commence between the National Constituencies Committee and the CDC Officer Board on the candidate strategy in Clare. There will be a push from influential personnel in Fianna Fáil in Clare to run only two candidates to maximise their chances of winning two seats.
Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) has received nominations for the convention as will Senator Timmy Dooley (FF). Further nominations are very likely with Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) who contested the General Election in 2020 a potential runner.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, the Doonbeg woman did not rule herself out of the reckoning. “I am naturally considering it, I haven’t made a decision just yet, I will have to talk to the members on it. I am enjoying the job I am in at the minute and I’m settling into that”.
Fresh from topping the poll in his first run for office, Cllr David Griffin (FF) has confirmed he will not be seeking a nomination to make a bid for the Dáil. “I won’t be contesting the convention, I’m only after getting elected to Clare County Council, I’m honoured with the vote that I got and I’m working for the next five years on my role. I will be supporting the nomination of both Cathal and Timmy”.
Griffin believed it would be best if the party ran both Deputy Crowe and Senator Dooley only to maximise their chances of winning two seats.
Having contested the 2016 General Election, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) confirmed to The Clare Echo she will not be allowing her name forward. The Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District felt officials in headquarters would make the right call when it comes to the amount of candidates put forward. “The constituency committee will study the numbers to know what is the best strategy to return two seats in Clare”.
During a recent visit to the county, Tánaiste Micheál Martin (FF) praised the input of former Minister for Defence, Tony Killeen (FF) within the party on a local level. Killeen’s name had been floated as a potential new chairperson of the party branch in Clare but instead of succeeding Mike Enright in the hotseat, he led the efforts to elect an officer board en bloc to try rid the party of division. “I don’t normally get involved in Dailcheantair elections but I met Tony on the way in there, he is in good form, he has done great work for us organisationally and maintained his commitment to the party since he left Dáil Éireann which I genuinely appreciate, he has been very helpful to me as party leader, he’s always been there as a listening voice, Tony is a significant influence in a positive way in Co Clare,” the Fianna Fáil leader said.
He confirmed to The Clare Echo that Deputy Crowe was among the personnel in the mix for the Super Junior Minister role which was given to Mayo TD, Dara Calleary (FF) and that of the Minister of State at the Department of Transport which went to James Lawless (FF).
Calleary had been Deputy Leader of the party but stepped down amid the Golfgate scandal in 2020, the post was left vacant for four years. “After the election we let the Ministers do their work and so on, at the parliamentary party about a year ago it was raised and so I thought about it, reflected on it and it ended up that the elections happened, I watched Jack (Chambers) in action and I said that is what I need,” the Tánaiste said when asked on why the vacancy existed for so long.
On the political podcast, Path to Power, Ivan Yates dubbed that he was ‘Machiavellian Micheál’ for appointing Minister Chambers as his Deputy Leader. “Did he call me that,” the Cork man remarked. “I studied Machiavelli when I was fifteen years of age (laughs) or heard about him when I was fifteen years of age, he wrote the book ‘the prince’. I wouldn’t think I’m Machiavellian at all, Jack is an excellent public representative, he did a fantastic job as Director of Elections for Fianna Fáil, he is a bright fella with a lot of strengths to his bow, the feedback from Jack during the local elections was very strong from people around the country and from the candidates in terms of his application, his hard work and his diligence, I reflected on that and felt he would make an ideal Deputy Leader of the party, I had in him when Michael McGrath indicated that he would be interested in the Commissioner position, it was important we sent a senior Minister for that position and I had my eye on Jack because he is bright, he is quick to learn and he has maturity beyond his age”.
