Tag Archives: independent

THIRTY seven year old Keith McNamara from Cluain Airne is running in the upcoming local elections as an independent. “I’ve been thinking about it for a number of years. The town is being neglected in some ways,” he said. “There are lots of maintenance issues, its public spaces have been neglected, and I want to represent the voice of the people of Shannon. I feel like it has been underrepresented a little bit for the past couple of years. “I was never a member of a party. I like politics, I’ve been interested in it since I was in my teens. “I’ve also been involved in numerous community groups since I was a teenager. I like being involved with things that contribute to a better life for everyone, planning for the future and contributing to the town and its environs.” On his current community involvement, he said, “Currently I’m involved with Wolfe Tones, I’m a member of Limerick Lawn Tennis …

A FORMER Direct Provision resident is once again throwing her hat in the ring for a chance to become a member of Clare County Council. Nigerian born Amanda Major has lived in Clare for 20 years and became an Irish citizen in 2015. She confirmed this week she will be running in this year’s Ennis Municipal District local elections as an Independent candidate. In 2019 she unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat on the council as an Independent gaining 200 first preference votes. And in 2022 she was among four local Fianna Fáil candidates vying for a seat on the local authority left vacant after former Ennis councillor Mark Nestor announced he was leaving politics to join the priesthood. Announcing her candidacy this week she said she made the decision “due to the urgent need for change and the crucial role that voting plays in shaping the future of our community.” She said, “In recent years, we have witnessed significant challenges …

There have been two very late additions to the General Election line up in Clare. Candidates had until noon today (Thursday) to register their intention to run. Ahead of the deadline, Independent Dermot Mulqueen, an artist from Gort Road, Ennis and André Sibo Hakizimana, an economic policy consultant, also from Gort Road, Ennis, lodged their nomination papers. There are now 16 candidates in the field for the four-seater constituency.

INDEPENDENT Kilrush county councillor Ian Lynch has confirmed that he will be a candidate in the upcoming general election, which is expected to be held in late February. Ten candidates have now declared their intention to stand in the Clare constituency. Elected to Clare County Council in 2014, Councillor Lynch also served on Kilrush Town Council from 2009 to 2014, when he represented Fine Gael. However, he opted to stand as an independent candidate in the county council elections after Fine Gael selected Gabriel Keating, Oliver Garry and Marian McMahon Jones to represent the party in the West Clare Municipal District in May 2014. Councillor Lynch maintains that the interests of West Clare have not been sufficiently represented in Dáil Éireann and insists that he is the candidate to change that. “There has been huge support in West Clare for me to run. People have said to me that the West has not had representation, based in West Clare, since …

In the Killaloe area, Joe Cooney of Fine Gael , as expected, will be comfortably elected, as will Independent Michael Begley.  Next home will be Tony O Brien, Fianna Fail and Pat Hayes of Fianna Fail. At this stage, it appears that outgoung Mayor of Clare Joe Arkins of Fine Gael will have a fight on his hands to retain his seat. Liam Wiley, Fianna Fail and Pat Burke of Fine Gael are among those who will be in contention for the remaining seats. [doptg id=”14″]

By Owen Ryan THE only sitting female county councillor in Clare has announced she will not be running in May’s local elections. Councillor Patricia McCarthy has been a fixture on Clare County Council for 35 years and has been on the soon-to-be-scrapped Shannon Town Council since it was founded in 1982. On Wednesday she announced she won’t be running again and speaking to The Clare Champion she said that when she retained her seats in 2007, she suspected it would be her last time her name would appear on a ballot paper. “It’s been on my mind. After the last election I had indicated to my campaign team that I was standing them down, that I most likely wouldn’t contest the next election.” She left it late to make an announcement in case she had a rethink. “I suppose I had my mind made up but I was just making sure that I wasn’t going to change it, I was …

 By Peter O’Connell KILRUSH town councillor Ian Lynch is to switch his political allegiance from Fine Gael and stand in the West Clare area as an Independent candidate in the May election. He will join the battle for votes in the West Clare capital with his town council party colleague Marian McMahon Jones, who was added to the Fine Gael ticket after the November  convention. Sitting county councillors Gabriel Keating and Oliver Garry were selected at the Fine Gael convention to represent the party in the expanded west Clare constituency. Currently Kilrush is without a representative on Clare County Council for the first time in the local authority’s history. Councillor Lynch was elected to Kilrush Town Council, on the first count, in 2009 and says that he regrets not running for the county council five years ago. “Looking back this may have been a mistake because since the local elections in 2009 Kilrush town and the greater hinterland have been …