Fianna Fail 'disappointed' at councillor's decision to run for Dail as Independent

IN a message delivered on Tuesday morning, the Fianna Fail party's Offaly secretary informed members of Cllr Fitzpatrick's decision to seek a seat in the Dail as an Independent.

“Naturally this is a disappointing development,” the message said. The message added that the party in the county would continue its efforts to ensure both of its candidates, Cllrs Tony McCormack and Cllr Claire Murray, “are successful on polling day”.

However, it is believed that Fianna Fail members accept that Cllr Fitzpatrick's entry into the race as an Independent candidate ends the party's slim chances of winning two of the three available Dail seats in Offaly because it will split the vote in the north east of the county.

Deputy Carol Nolan, Cadamstown, is seeking re-election and is very likely to retain her seat.  She was elected for the first time in 2016 in the Offaly constituency as a Sinn Fein candidate and won again in 2020 in Laois-Offaly as an Independent having increased her vote across both elections from 4,804 to 5,436.

Fine Gael has selected the Kinnitty publican and tourism accommodation provider, Cllr John Clendennen, as its sole candidate and he is expected to be elected in what is his first time to run for the Dail.

Cllr Clendennen is aiming to regain the seat lost by Marcella Corcoran Kennedy in 2020.

READ: https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/home/1624427/shock-for-offaly-fianna-fail-as-councillor-opts-to-run-for-dail-as-independent.html

The Green Party will be represented in the election by Senator Pippa Hackett, the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture who sits at cabinet meetings as a so-called 'super junior'.

Minister Hackett, who was first elected to Offaly County Council in 2019, finished sixth on the last count in the Laois-Offaly five-seater in 2020 but the Geashill farmer is facing a more difficult challenge on this occasion.

The Green vote dropped at the local elections in June and her husband Mark Hackett lost the council seat in the Edenderry Electoral Area. 

Cllr Fitzpatrick becomes the the second former Progressive Democrat councillor in Offaly on the ballot paper for the general election, which could be held next month, and if not, early next year.

Like Cllr Fitzpatrick, Edenderry representative Cllr Fergus McDonnell was elected as a PD councillor in 2004.

Cllr McDonnell regained his seat on Offaly County Council this June as a member of the new Independent Ireland party and has announced that he is running for the Dail.

Cllr Fitzpatrick contested his first Dail election in 2011 as an Independent and received 2,544 first preference votes in the Laois-Offaly constituency.

At the 2016 general election in the Offaly constituency he ran as a Fianna Fail candidate and increased his first count vote to 3,394 and was only 170 votes behind Carol Nolan on the last count.

Fianna Fail selected Cllr Ormond as its second candidate in Offaly along with Deputy Barry Cowen at the 2020 general election when Offaly was reunited with Laois to form a five-seat constituency.

Cllr Ormond received 4,073 first preferences but was eliminated on the seventh count.