Fine Gael has insisted that former TD Kate O’Connell was turned down for a place on the party’s ticket in Dublin Bay South before she resigned from the party and announced she was running as an Independent.
Ms O’Connell, a high-profile former TD who had clashed with Leo Varadkar but seemed to be set for a return to the fold under Simon Harris, announced that she would run as an Independent candidate in an interview with the Sunday Independent.
Fine Gael strongly rejected the suggestion that Ms O’Connell had rejected an offer to run for the party, and said it has instead selected Cllr Emma Blain to run in the constituency, along with current lord mayor James Geoghegan.
In response to questions from The Irish Times, the party said: “Yesterday the Fine Gael executive council approved the addition of Cllr Emma Blain to run with Cllr James Geoghegan in Dublin Bay South, where we will be aiming to win two seats. Kate O’Connell was not asked to run for Fine Gael in the forthcoming general election. Fine Gael HQ was in discussions with her – along with others – about a potential addition. Fine Gael HQ informed Ms O’Connell earlier last week that we would not be considering her further for addition in Dublin Bay South.”
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Fine Gael sources said Ms O’Connell, along with others, had been engaged in a process of discussions and vetting that all potential candidates go through with party officials. During that process the party came to a decision that it would add Cllr Blain to the ticket. Ms O’Connell had been told in a phone call on Thursday that she would not be added and that her resignation from the party was received after this, senior Fine Gael sources say.
Ms O’Connell told The Irish Times that while negotiations were ongoing with Fine Gael, she decided that the “best option to contest this election was to run as an independent candidate.”
“The decision to run as an independent candidate was made in advance of my being informed by HQ on Saturday evening that an alternative candidate was being added to the ticket in Dublin Bay South.”
She did not respond when asked if the decision was made after Fine Gael informed her that it did not intend to select her.
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