Offaly TD says he will seek seat in European Parliament

OFFALY TD Barry Cowen has announced that he wishes to seek a seat in the European Parliament.

Deputy Cowen told Fianna Fail party colleagues at a special meeting last night (Monday) that he plans to put his name forward for selection as a candidate for the June 2024 elections.

“With the addition of Laois-Offaly into the Midlands-North-West constituency, I feel now is the right time for me to try and deliver for my constituency at a European level, having been a councillor for 20 years and a TD for 12 years,” said Deputy Cowen.

“I will be focused on the ongoing transition led by the EU towards sustainability across many sectors key to our success as an economy - food and farming, energy and enterprise, and making sure Irish views and interests are reflected in EU policies.

“Reinstating a seat or seats in this constituency will be important for the party and I believe I can deliver that having successfully contested many elections with a strong network and family history of pro-European public service.

“I am honoured at the support from the Fianna Fáil organisation, locally and nationally, for me to pursue the nomination and seek to win back a seat for Fianna Fáil in the Midlands-North-West constituency.”

Earlier this year Deputy Cowen said there was “no truth” in rumours that he would seek a seat in Europe but the return of Offaly to the Midlands-North-West will have been a strong factor in the Clara man's change of mind.

Fianna Fail has no MEP in the European Parliament Midlands-North-West constituency which has been allocated an extra seat, bringing it from four to five.

A high profile Fianna Fail senator, Lisa Chambers from Co Mayo, is also seeking a seat in the constituency.

A second Fianna Fail senator who has indicated his intention to seek a nomination is Donegal man Niall Blaney.

Fianna Fail will be aiming to win at least one of the five available seats in a constituency which comprises Offaly, Laois, Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

If Deputy Cowen succeeds in his bid it would bring to an end representation from the Cowen family in the Dail which stretches back to 1969 when Ber Cowen, father of Barry and former Taoiseach Brian, was first elected.

Barry Cowen's exit from the Dail would also pile pressure on the party to find a suitable candidate for the next general election, which must take place by spring 2025 at the latest.

Offaly will be a stand-alone three-seat constituency and population considerations might dictate the selection of a candidate living in the Tullamore area or in the north of the county.

Potentially, two sitting councillors from Tullamore, Tony McCormack and Declan Harvey, could seek a nomination, as could former Dail candidate and councillor for the Edenderry area, Eddie Fitzpatrick, who is a farmer in Cloneyhurke, Portarlington.

Another bid for a Dail seat by Cllr Peter Ormond from Shinrone, who ran for Fianna Fail at the last general election in 2020, is also a possibility.

Cllr Frank Moran is now the Clara-based Fianna Fail representative in the Tullamore Electoral Area.

Local party supporters will also likely point to the importance of maintaining the Cowen dynasty in the Dail.

Brian Cowen won the bye-election caused by the death of his father Ber in 1984 and was appointed a senior government minister for the first time in 1992.

His younger brother Barry was co-opted onto Offaly County Council and was returned to the local authority at subsequent elections until he won the Dail seat vacated by then Taoiseach Brian in 2011.

Barry Cowen was briefly Minister for Agriculture in the current Government before being sacked by Micheal Martin amid a row over a drink driving ban from four years earlier.

The sitting MEPs in the Midlands-North-West Euro constituency are Fine Gael's Maria Walsh (Mayo) and Colm Markey (Louth), Chris MacManus of Sinn Fein (Sligo) and Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, the independent representative from Roscommon.

Mr Markey replaced Mairead McGuinness after she was appointed an EU commissioner and Mr MacManus replaced the MEP elected for Sinn Fein at the last poll in 2019, Matt Carthy, who won a seat in the Dail in 2020.

Ms McGuinness said earlier this month her focus is on the European Commission, where she has another year to serve, and she will not seek a return to the European Parliament.