Labour Party to choose candidate for Carlow-Kilkenny constituency next week

THE LABOUR Party will next week hold a selection convention to choose a candidate to contest the general election in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency.

Co Kilkenny-based Ann Phelan or Co Carlow’s Willie Quinn will be the candidates who will attempt to win back a traditionally “safe” Dáil seat lost to the Green Party at the last general election.

The shortlist was chosen following interviews of prospective candidates by party officials.

At the 2007 general election, Labour lost the seat held by Séamus Pattison for 46 years.

The former ceann comhairle of the Dáil, and Europe’s longest- serving elected parliamentarian, retired from public life and did not seek re-election. Seeking to replace him, the party ran two candidates in the five-seat constituency but its share of the vote collapsed and the seat was won by the Green Party’s Mary White, the recently appointed Minister of State.

The other four seats were filled by three Fianna Fáil TDs – Bobby Aylward, John McGuinness and MJ Nolan – and Fine Gael’s Phil Hogan.

Labour officials were disappointed by the loss of one of the party’s safest seats and expressed their determination to win it back. For the next election, party headquarters has decided to run just one candidate in the constituency — although it is understood that delegates from Co Carlow may contest this strategy at the convention.

Both of the shortlisted candidates live close to the border between the two counties.

Ms Phelan (49) lives in Graiguenamanagh and has been a member of Kilkenny County Council since 2004. Mr Quinn (52) from Borris, who was co-opted on to Carlow County Council in 2007, held the seat in last year’s local elections.

The convention, to be chaired by Brendan Howlin TD, will take place in The Lord Bagenal Hotel, Leighlinbridge next Monday night, April 12th .

At the 2007 general election, Fianna Fáil won 48 per cent of first-preference votes in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency; Fine Gael won 30 per cent; Labour won 9 per cent and the Green Party received 8 per cent.

However, as the count progressed, the Green Party attracted more transfers than Labour and Mary White became the only Green TD elected in a rural constituency.