This article is from page 10 of the 2013-06-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
A CROWDED field is developing within Fianna Fáil as competition between would be candidates intensifies ahead of next year’s local elections in the Ennis electoral area. The Cla re People has learned that as many as 11 people are keen to put their name forward for the candidate selection process at the party’s convention later this year.
Three current Fianna Fáíl councillors – Mayor of Clare Pat Daly, Tom McNamara and the former Green Party councillor Brian Meaney – are expected to seek the party nomination.
It is not known yet whether or not current Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Peter Considine (FF) will seek to stand for election in 2014.
Thereafter a number of other potential candidates with strong Fianna Fáil connections are also understood to be keen on having their name on the ballot paper next year.
Former Mayor of Ennis and member of Ennis Town Council, Joe Reidy, former member of Clare County Council, Bernard Hanrahan and Garrett Greene, a former local election candidate are among the established Fianna Fáíl names seeking the backing of party at the convention.
Eoin Neylon, a member of the Fianna Fáil national executive and former garda seargent and All-Ireland winning Clare Intermediate hurling manager Kevin Kennedy are also strongly rumoured to be interested in putting themselves forward for the party selection process.
A senior party source says Fianna Fáíl is actively headhunting a high profile female candidate ahead of the introduction of a quota system in the next general election.
Fianna Fáíl has not yet decided whether to field four or five candidates in Ennis.
The party is considering the implications of the revised local election boundaries which were published earlier this month and a decision on the number of candidates is not expected to be taken until the party convention which is expected to take place later this summer.
The source said that competition within the party is expected to be fierce. He explained, “Its crazy at the moment. There are a lot of names out there.
“There are only going to four or five positions available so it’s going to be a right bottleneck with so many outgoing councillors as well. There seems to be the most competition for places in Ennis”.
The eventual candidates will battle for eight seats in the Ennis area.