Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam has confirmed he will be putting himself forward to run for Fine Gael in the upcoming byelection in Dublin Central.
McAdam, who has been a Fine Gael councillor for Dublin City Council since 2009, had been the favourite to contest the upcoming election for his party.
A vacancy in Dublin Central arose after Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe, then minister for finance, resigned his seat in November to take a new job at the World Bank in Washington DC.
A byelection in Galway West to fill the seat vacated by Catherine Connolly when she became president will be held on the same day.
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The Taoiseach confirmed earlier this month that both byelections will take place in May.
“If selected, I intend to run a very positive campaign,” McAdam said.
“I have been an accessible public representative in Dublin Central for the last 17 years, someone who’s worked hard on the ground to deliver and I look forward to putting my case forward for the people towards people in Dublin Central.”
[ Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan selected to contest Dublin Central byelectionOpens in new window ]
Sinn Féin councillor Janice Boylan, who was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2014, has been selected as her party’s candidate for the Dublin Central byelection, winning out over Gillian Sherratt.
Sherratt, who is from Clondalkin, gained national prominence as a campaigner alongside her husband Stephen Morrison for their son Harvey.
Harvey died at the age of nine after waiting a number of years for spinal surgery. The family’s campaign helped to directly lead to the establishment of a public inquiry on care of children with scoliosis and spina bifida.
Boylan, who was Mary Lou McDonald’s running mate in the 2024 general election, was chosen as the candidate following a selection convention on Wednesday evening.
McDonald had said last weekend there was a “very, very lively debate” within her party’s membership over which of the two women should get the nomination.
In a post on social media after she was selected, Boylan said she “won’t forget my roots and I will work hard to bring about the change we all need”.
Other candidates so far confirmed for the Dublin Central byelection include: councillor Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats, folk musician and People Before Profit activist Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, Green Party councillor Janet Horner, independent anti-immigration councillor Malachy Steenson and veteran criminal Gerry Hutch.
Senator Mary Fitzpatrick and councillor John Stephens have both been linked to a possible byelection run for Fianna Fáil.
[ Gerry Hutch’s mask slips again as ego drives newest Dáil bidOpens in new window ]
