And they’re off! Now Nina enters MEP race

Former jockey Carberry seeking Fine Gael nomination

FORMER jockey Nina Carberry is seeking to enter the race for the European Parliament for Fine Gael.

Ms Carberry, 39, a seven-time winner at Cheltenham and a Dancing With The Stars champion, has put her name forward as potential candidate for the party in the Midlands-North-West constituency.

In a message to Fine Gael members yesterday, the Meath woman said that her approach to politics will be defined by ‘honesty, hard work and plain talking’. ‘In the Ireland and Europe of today, it is more important than ever for those who believe they Bid: Nina Carberry is keen to run can make a difference to put their hand up to make things happen. As a mother of two, that is why I want to contest the European elections for Fine Gael this June to ensure a bright future for all,’ she said. Ms Carberry said that she grew up in ‘a family of Fine Gael supporters’, adding: ‘Fine Gael’s core value of equality of opportunity resonates deeply with me. ‘As a candidate, I embody this principle.’ She also highlighted the party’s ‘commendable track record of strong female representatives’.

The five-seater Midlands-North-West constituency covers from Meath across to Galway and up to Donegal.

Ms Carberry said: ‘Having spent two decades travelling the country, meeting people through racing and community events, I have seen first-hand the challenges faced by these communities.

‘Across Europe, rural areas encounter unique difficulties, and this holds even truer for an island off the European coast. I want to be a champion for balanced regional development, making sure every town and village has access to the services and infrastructure that allow people to live and work locally.’

Ms Carberry said it would be ‘a huge privilege’ to run for Fine Gael and to represent the people of Midlands-North-West.

She comes from a family steeped in horse racing. Her father Tommy won the Grand National as both a jockey and trainer as well as triumphing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a jockey on two occasions. Two of her four brothers, Paul and Philip, also followed in their father’s footsteps. Ms Carberry is married to Ted Walsh Jr, brother of champion jockey Ruby and son of Ted Walsh Sr, an acclaimed trainer and racing pundit.

Fine Gael has two sitting MEPs in the current four-seater that will become a five-seater constituency – Maria Walsh and Colm Markey. The party’s selection convention takes place on Saturday of this week.

The other sitting MEPs in the constituency are Independent Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan and Sinn Féin’s Chris MacManus.