Ahern and O'Keeffe announce they will not contest election

RESIGNATIONS: A FURTHER two longstanding Fianna Fáil TDs last night announced they would not be contesting the general election…

RESIGNATIONS:A FURTHER two longstanding Fianna Fáil TDs last night announced they would not be contesting the general election.

Noel Ahern in Dublin Northwest and Ned O’Keeffe in Cork East made the announcements at their respective constituency’s selection conventions.

Mr Ahern’s decision means that Fianna Fáil will run only one candidate in the three-seater constituency, current government minister, Pat Carey.

In Cork East Mr O’Keeffe’s son, Kevin has replaced him on the ticket where sitting Fianna Fáil TD Michael Ahern was also selected to run.

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It had been unclear prior to Noel Ahern’s announcement whether party headquarters would instruct for one or two candidates to be nominated in Dublin Northwest. However, Mr Ahern said afterwards he had been told that if both had wanted to run the party would have allowed them to do so.

“They were clearly telling me that if the two of you want to run we will let you run, but we don’t advise it,” he said.

“There’s been no pressure – they have certainly been talking to me about electoral strategy and that you would have a better chance by having only one candidate,” said Mr Ahern.

He added that it was a tactic he fully agreed with but had “half hoped that Pat [Carey] would do it [step down] instead.”

Mr Ahern, who is the brother of the former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has been a member of the Dáil since 1992 said that he had come to the decision slowly over the last month or so.

When asked about the end of the Ahern dynasty, considering that his brother recently announced that he would not contest the upcoming election, Mr Ahern said that there was never a dynasty in the first place.

“When people talk about dynasties they are talking about fathers or uncles or something,” he said.

Mr Ahern said that he did not know what the highlight of his career was and that he had always considered himself a team player.

“I worked very much behind the scenes rather than out on the plinth so to speak,” he said.

In Cork, Ned O’Keeffe’s decision to step down leaves Fianna Fáil with an even greater challenge in what is increasing looking alike a rather forlorn hope to hold its two seats in the four seat constituency. Mr O’Keeffe attributed the Fianna Fáil drop in the polls to the party’s dalliance with corporate Ireland saying that it had neglected the ordinary people.

Fellow sitting Fianna Fáil TD Michael Ahern paid tribute to Mr O’Keeffe whom he said he had worked well with over the 28 years together in Dáil Éireann for the benefit of the people in north east Cork.