This article is from page 4 of the 2014-05-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE nephew of President Michael D Higgins, Donal Higgins, will contest the Clare County Council election for the Labour Party.
The Government party added the Ballycar man to the ticket at the 11th hour, registering him at 11am on Saturday morning, just 60 minutes before the deadline.
“It was as late as Wednesday that I decided, but it was something a I had been thinking about for a long time,” Mr Higgins told The Clare People .
He said he had been approached to run in the Shannon region a number of months ago but did not want to go up against his friend and party colleague Tony McMahon.
“Pascal [Fitzgerald] was also coming into that area so it was well covered. Then Michael McNamara [Clare TD] approached me to run in the Killaloe area. I had a good think about it with my wife and I decided to go for it,” he said.
Mr Higgins, a father of two young children, admits it will be a balanc- ing act to include the council in his life, but he knows from experience this is something he is good at.
During the last six years he has studied for his Science Technology degree in the University of Limerick, while also holding down a full time job at Zimmer, Shannon and caring for his family.
Mr Higgins was one of the workers who lost their jobs when Dell in Limerick closed, but after a year of unemployment and internship in Zimmer saw him eventually secure a full time job at night.
His degree course finishes this month, just in time for the council elections and a possible career on the local government body.
The 35 year-old grew up in the family farm in Ballycar, Newmarket on Fergus, and attended the local school followed by St Caimin’s College in Shannon.
He is married to Michelle and they have two little boys under the age of four.
He is the son of Maureen and John Higgins, the brother of the President of Ireland.