FIANNA FÁIL’S local election fortunes in Wexford have received a boost with former TD Tony Dempsey’s decision to re-enter politics.
Mr Dempsey was elected to the Dáil for Wexford in 2002, and caused surprise when he stood down after just one term five years later.
The local Fianna Fáil organisation in Wexford informed party headquarters recently that Mr Dempsey was available to seek a seat on Wexford County Council, in June, and the national constituencies’ committee has now given him the go-ahead.
Mr Dempsey (64) conceded that Fianna Fáil was facing strong challenges in the local elections, adding that he had thought “long and hard” before making his decision.
“I was requested, locally and nationally, to run, and I had to consider whether I had a contribution to make,” he added.
“Rather than sitting on the fence, I decided I would give it a go, try to get elected and serve the people of Wexford.”
Mr Dempsey said that many people were facing disaster, and there was an onus on everybody to engage in the political process.
He will be added to the ticket in the Wexford electoral area to join candidates Fergie Keogh, from Wexford town, and Noel Howlin, from Kilmore.
Fianna Fáil is perceived to be under strong pressure in this key electoral area, given that its sitting councillor, Mr Keogh, will be contesting his first election. He was co-opted to Wexford County Council in 2007, when the then taoiseach Bertie Ahern appointed Lisa McDonald to the Seanad.
Mr Dempsey, a vocational school principal, had a formidable record of involvement with the GAA when he was elected to the Dáil in 2002. He was made chairman of the Wexford county GAA board in 1976, and held a number of other positions before becoming manager of the county’s senior hurling team.
Although considered to have a bright future, he decided representative politics was not for him at the 2007 general election.