Conway makes case for FG nomination

A date has been set for the Fine Gael convention to select candidates to run for the General Election in Clare. The convention will take place on September 11 in Ennis, with the county’s two sitting TDs, Deputies Pat Breen and Joe Carey, likely to receive the nod.
Senators Tony Mulcahy and Martin Conway have both said they will seek the party’s nomination. Clare County Councillor Mary Howard may also seek to have her name put forward. Senator Mulcahy was on the ticket in the 2011 General Election but was not elected, while Senator Conway had expressed his desire to run for Fine Gael on that occasion but was not selected as a candidate.
“In 2009, I topped polls in local elections with a significant surplus. I wasn’t running in the subsequent General Election, even though a senior cabinet minister living seven miles away from me had said he would not be running, so it left a vacuum. Fine Gael decided not to run me and I believe that significantly diminished the party’s chances of winning a third seat. In the subsequent Seanad election in 2011, I won a seat and, for the last four years, I have been an effective senator with a very high work ethic, both locally and nationally. I feel all of those factors, together with my geographical location, make the case for me to be a member of the Fine Gael ticket in the next General Election,” Senator Conway said.
Two candidates are expected to be chosen at the convention, with further names likely to be added by Fine Gael headquarters later in the year