Mary Fitzpatrick selected to run for Fianna Fáil in Dublin Central

Mary Fitzpatrick has been selected unopposed as Fianna Fáil's candidate in Dublin Central for the general election.

Her name was the only name that went before the convention in Drumcondra.

The party's National Constituencies Committee had issued an instruction that the party follow a single candidate strategy and that the person must be a female.

It led to criticism from Brian Mohan, a party activist, who had hoped to stand for the nomination in the three-seat constituency.

The other candidate, Denise McMorrow, withdrew ahead of the convention, leaving Ms Fitzpatrick as the automatic nominee.

There were heated exchanges at the meeting and a walk-out by a small number of people. There have been bitter rivalries in the past between supporters of Ms Fizpatick and those of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Ms McMorrow criticised the gender quota rules imposed by the party in her address to members at the convention on Wednesday night. It was held at the Skylon Hotel in Drumcondra.

The constituency was the base of Mr Ahern for three decades but Fianna Fáil failed to win a seat in the 2011 election. Much of Ms Fitzpatrick's area around the Navan Road has been transferred into Dublin West. As a consequence she is seen as an outsider in the poll where Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald and former lord mayor Christy Burke are seen as the frontrunners.

Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe and veteran Labour Deputy Joe Costello will both be fighting for survival in this constiuency which skirts the north side of the River Liffey in the capital.