Dr John Hillery and Deputy Timmy Dooley were selected to represent Fianna Fáil (FF) in Clare at the next General Election following the selection convention in Hotel Woodstock on Thursday night. The son of former President of Ireland Patrick Hillery beat off the challenge of Rita McInerney as Deputy Dooley was returned without a contest. In total, 278 FF members in the West Clare Municipal District voted in this contest, Dr Hillery secured 154 votes while Ms McInerney got 123 votes. Interestingly, these two successful candidates also represented Fianna Fáil in the 2011 General Election when transfers from Dr Hillery helped Deputy Dooley to win a Dáil seat without reaching the quota in the midst of a national meltdown for the party In his acceptance speech, Deputy Dooley requested all his supporters in West and North Clare to give their first preference in the next General Election to Dr Hillery. Acknowledging this was a difficult thing to do, the Mountshannon …
Read More »Crowe flies from FF Convention after “political bombshell”
Councillor Cathal Crowe has confirmed his shock withdrawal from the Clare Fianna Fáil Dáil Selection Convention, after claiming party headquarters scuppered his chances of election with a “political bombshell”. The Clare Champion can reveal the experienced Meelick Councillor will officially withdraw from the covention next Thursday, after an unprecedented geographical directive from Fianna Fáil headquarters. While Councillor Crowe will not contest the convention, he is hoping to convince senior party officials to subsequently add him to the party’s Dáil ticket in the Banner county. In fact, he is seeking an urgent meeting with general secretary Sean Dorgan and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheal Martin to present what he believes is a strong case to be added to the line-up. Hundreds of delegates, who are eligible to vote in the convention in Woodstock Hotel next Thursday night, have been issued with a controversial party directive requesting them to select one candidate from East and West Clare. Five candidates were initially nominated …
Read More »Dr Hillery quits before FF selection convention
Dr John Hillery has sensationally quit from the race to secure a place on Clare Fianna Fáil’s General Election ticket. In a surprise move, the son of former President of Ireland, Dr Patrick Hillery confirmed he is withdrawing his name ahead of next Monday’s nomination deadline for the Clare Fianna Fáil’s General Election selection convention. The consultant psychiatrist confirmed he wasn’t asked by the party to withdraw from the race. Having consulted with his own political supporters, Dr Hillery decided he hadn’t enough time to mount a credible campaign ahead of the selection convention, which will be probably held next month. He criticised party headquarters for the delay in providing a definite timescale and date for the convention, which made it extremely difficult for prospective candidates with full time jobs to juggle local canvassing with work. “Candidates have a lot of work done and at this stage I felt I had too much work ahead of a possible convention in July. …
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