The Fianna Fáil general secretary is to hold further talks on Sunday with the five potential candidates for the Kildare North constituency in an attempt to reach agreement on a strategy for the party in the constituency.
A convention to select the party's preferred candidate on Tuesday was abandoned at the last minute, amid concerns about the current profile of the potential candidates.
"The party felt that the time wasn't right," a spokeswoman for the party said about the decision to postpone the selection convention. The convention is not expected to take place for at least four months.
The Fianna Fáil organisation in North Kildare is one of the most divided within the party nationally, and party officials involved in the by-election earlier this year reported resistance and lack of co-operation in many parts of the constituency during the campaign.
Party headquarters had been hoping for a high profile candidate or one that the local organisation could unite behind, but divisions within the local organisation are believed to remain considerable.