Tag Archives: election

Clare political activist and co-founder of the Clare Leader Forum, Ann Marie Flanagan, has announced her intention to run for a position in Seanad Éireann. Seanad elections will take place after the next general election, which is expected later this year or early in 2025. Ms Flanagan has secured the nomination of the nominating body Independent Living Movement Ireland, with almost 80% of that group voting to select her as a candidate to be a Senator. After an unsuccessful bid to become a Senator during Covid 19 lockdown in 2020, Flanagan gained national attention earlier this year for her outspoken opposition to the Care Referendum. “Everybody knowns that I am a political activist. I have contested local elections and if I had the resources to contest a General Election, that is something I would also consider,” she said. “I was honoured in 2020 to be put forward by the Independent Living Movement Ireland, which is a nominating body, to run …

  THE Shannon Municipal District now has two female representatives and two twenty-something members, after last weekend’s results. There was a feeling in advance that David Griffin and Rachel Hartigan could do well, and both were propelled onto the local authority, having won very large first preferences. With Pat McMahon not running there was a clear opportunity for someone from Newmarket to win a seat, but there was no guarantee that it would be taken.  However once the early tallies came in it was clear that David Griffin had won a very strong local vote, something confirmed when the first count gave him 1534 number ones , well ahead of the quota of 1456. Griffin won 694 of 1013 votes cast at Newmarket on Fergus National School, according to the tallies, while at Stonehall National School, he took 166 out of 249. It was an exceptional performance and he actually ended up with more than 500 first preferences than Pat …

For all the latest local election news from the count centre at Treacy’s West County Hotel, follow the Clare Champion’s LIVE blog from our news team. Log on to the Clare Champion website and click on the blue Local Election icon at the top pf the page to access the rolling LIVE blog. The Kilrush and Shannon counts are currently underway at the centre.

CLARE TD Michael McNamara has announced he will be contesting the European election in the Ireland South constituency as an Independent candidate.  “When the Irish people voted for greater integration of the European Union, they voted to opt out of justice / immigration measures for reasons as valid now as then. This government is intent on ceding these key areas of national sovereignty to Brussels. That’s why, more than ever, we will need representation in Europe asking the difficult questions,” he said. “Over the past few years, many people have felt unrepresented in the making of decisions that affect their lives. I have questioned the Government and tried to make them explain the decisions they make, and I will be asking people for their support to do the same in Europe where more and more of the decisions that affect us in Ireland are made,” he added. The Independent candidate cited agriculture and renewable energy as key issues for him …

Clare farm leader, Eddie Punch, has named the development of Shannon Airport and the return of political power to local areas, as two of his main issues ahead of his bid to be elected to the European Parliament. The East Clare man stepped down as General Secretary of the ICSA on Tuesday in order to attempt to become Clare’s first MEP since Sylvie Barrett (FG) was elected in 1984. Mr Punch believes that now is the time to rebalance the political power structure in Ireland. He says that the upcoming introduction of a directly elected mayor for Limerick could be a catalyst for increased devolution of powers at the local level. He also believes that the role of Shannon Airport must be strengthened in the years ahead to insure balanced regional development. “I am really concerned about the tourism sector in Clare in particular. There has been a completely lackadaisical approach to tourism. The role of Shannon Airport really has …

Election 2024 is already on the minds of Ennis councillors with a call being made for the creation of designated sites for the erection of election posters rather than having them on lampposts and other locations throughout the county capital. Councillor Mary Howard (FG) made the novel suggestion at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where she said specific sites for posters would encourage “responsible consumption, climate action and reducing the visual impact of posters, while also ensuring equity between new and existing candidates”. The council executive responded by stating a bill intending to regulate the placement of election posters and referendum material to “designated areas” chosen by local authorities has not been enacted. Councillor Howard recalled that back in 2019, sitting members of the Ennis Municipal District voluntarily agreed not to erect posters, however this agreement did not extend to incoming candidates. Councillor Howard described the move as a “very brave step” for the members of the …

Former Clare TD James Breen has thrown down the gauntlet to Fianna Fail leader, Michael Martin to put the people before power and get a new government in situ. “It’s time for the talking to stop and to get a deal done. We need political stability and a new government, not a caretaker one running the country. We need to get the country back on its feet and our workforce back to work. We need Michael Martin to put people before power,” he declared. Mr Breen, who resigned from the Fianna Fail party and was elected an Independent TD in the 29th Dail from 2002 to 2207, said that it seems national interest has gone out the window given the protracted nature of discussions between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, The Green Party and now the independents. “At the Clare election count I spoke a lot about national interest. Now, 300 days on from that election it appears national interest has …

EVEN as it was apparent that he was going to lose his seat, Pat Breen cut a relaxed figure at the General Election count centre and this week he announced that he will not be returning to political life in any guise. The Senate is very often the next target for those who don’t get to the Dáil but the Ballynacally man said it’s not for him. “There was huge pressure on me to run for the Senate from party members in Clare and from colleagues but I kind of made my mind up. “Here I am, at this stage of my life and if I don’t do something different now, I’ll never do it. I want to do something different, rather than stay in a political career. I’ve served 20 years in politics, 18 years in the Dáil, and I’ve left my mark on the county. I think it was Barack Obama who said once, ‘Never fear the future, …