Offaly councillors keep options open in race for new Dail seat

TWO prominent councillors in Offaly have not ruled out running for the Dail in the next general election.

Potential candidates have been assessing their options after the Constituency Commission recommended the abolition of the current five-seat Laois-Offaly constituency and its replacement with a three-seater in each county.

With just two TDs returned in Offaly at the last election in 2020, the creation of an extra seat opens up opportunities for political parties and independents.

The current Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council, Cllr Eddie Fitzpatrick, said he is interested in seeking a Dail seat again but must await a decision from his party, Fianna Fail.

“It depends on whether the party want to select me or not but I would have an interest because I think there's an opportunity across this part of the county all the way from Edenderry back across to Portarlington,” said the Cloneyhurke-based farmer.

“There's no representation across that area. Tullamore and Birr have it.”

Cllr Fitzpatrick finished fourth on the last occasion Offaly was a stand-alone three-seater, 2016, coming in just 170 votes behind new TD Carol Nolan in the last count.

The councillor's chances could improve next time out because all the voters in north and east Offaly will be in the constituency with the return of Portarlington North.

North-east Offaly, where much of the population surge in recent decades has occurred, has not had a TD from its own area since the retirement in 1997 of Bracknagh man, Fianna Fail's Ger Connolly.

Fianna Fail's Barry Cowen is almost certain of re-election. The only other Offaly TD currently is Deputy Nolan, an Independent representative following her split with Sinn Fein.

Cllr Fitzpatrick said: “If you look at the [national] polls it would be very difficult for Fianna Fail to elect two in Offaly, even though in Offaly Fianna Fail is always stronger.”

South Offaly had two TDs between 2016 and 2020 following the election of Cadamstown-based Deputy Nolan and Fine Gael's Marcella Corcoran Kennedy.

The Shinrone Fianna Fail councillor, Peter Ormond, ran in the Laois-Offaly five-seater in 2020 and was seventh in the first count but did not challenge for a seat as transfers came into play.

Following the failure of Ms Corcoran Kennedy to retain her seat in that election, attention in the party has turned to the intentions of Cllr John Clendennen.

The Kinnitty publican and glamping accommodation operator sought a seat in the Seanad once but has not yet run for the Dail.

He said this week the candidate selection process within Fine Gael has to be observed before any election but added: “In the past I've been a [potential] general election candidate and I stepped back. I wouldn't say I've lost my political ambition but certainly my priority and focus now will be the local elections in May or June 2024 and to look beyond that wouldn't exactly be wise.”

Cllr Clendennen added: “I wouldn't say I'm ruling out running for the Dail but if there's anything you learn from talking to any elected representative, it's certainly an area where you can't plan your career path.

“Really what I would say is it's no different to sport, take one game at a time, it's one election at a time and let's get over the local election. The commitment I'd be making here now is that I'm definitely running in the local elections in 2024 but I certainly wouldn't be ruling out anything further than that afterwards.”

The only declared runners in the next general election, which must take place by early 2025 at the latest, are Deputies Cowen and Nolan, and Senator Pippa Hackett of the Green Party, who finished sixth in the contest for the five Laois-Offaly seats in 2020 and was then appointed Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture.

While some of the focus in Offaly will be on who Fine Gael will have on the ballot paper, there is also the question of the Sinn Fein strategy.

With the party consistently polling at least 30% nationally, Sinn Fein should be aiming for at least one seat in Offaly.

But after losing all three of its councillors at the last local elections in 2019 and with Deputy Nolan departed because of her pro-life beliefs, Sinn Fein will be seeking a suitable candidate.

It has already selected two candidates for the Tullamore Electoral Area in next summer's council elections, Aoife Masterson, a Tullamore native and Leinster House-based party worker, and Arden View woman Theresa Bracken, a social care practitioner.

The Constituency Commission decided to break up the Laois-Offaly constituency because the combined population of both counties is now too large for five seats.

Retaining Laois-Offaly would have necessitated transferring voters on county boundaries to other constituencies so for the first time in the history of the State, the entire county of Offaly is a single constituency, as is Laois.

At the 2020 general election one part of east Offaly, Portarlington North, was transferred into the Kildare South constituency.

In 2011, the only other occasion when Offaly was a three-seater, the constituency also included thousands of voters from across the county border in north Tipperary.