New boss wooing Kate O’Connell... but it’s a long way from a done deal
Former TD warns her ‘friend’ Harris has ‘a lot of work to do’ but many in party would see return as a big win
‘She has a lot more options than FG’
THE potential return of Kate O’Connell to Fine Gael is far from a done deal, party sources have told the Irish Daily Mail.
One of the first acts of Simon Harris on being chosen as party leader was to contact Ms O’Connell to check her electoral availability.
The former Dublin Bay South TD lost her seat in 2020, and has found herself frozen out since then after a high-profile falling out with Leo Varadkar – but she is still held in high esteem by her party colleagues.
One Fine Gael source noted: ‘The return of Kate would be seen as a big win. It would send out a significant signal to other female voters.’
Ms O’Connell said of Mr Harris: ‘I think it’s going to be very good for the party. I worked very closely with Simon Harris all my time through the Dáil. We are friends and we remained friends after I lost my seat. He has been in touch’.
But she also warned the new leader ‘has a lot of work to do’.
Meanwhile, Ms O’Connell’s prospective running mate, Cllr James Geoghegan – defeated by Labour’s Ivana Bacik in the by-election of 2021 – has given an icy response to her return, warning that the party risks splitting the vote and coming back empty handed. The barrister cited the example of 2002 where, amidst polling figures of 22%, the party ran two candidates and, ‘neither Fine Gael candidate got elected.’
Mr Geoghegan also said he was ‘confident’ of victory should he be the sole Fine Gael candidate, ‘because I obtained 7,000 first preferences in the 2021 by-election which represented the combined vote of Eoghan Murphy and Kate O’Connell in the 2020 general election.’
However, one Fine Gael source warned: ‘Kate will not be impressed by all that game-playing. She is a woman with options and there are a lot more options than Fine Gael.’
Another said she could be a strong asset for a new party planned by Senator Michael McDowell, former justice minister and one-time leader of the Progressive Democrats.
They said: ‘McDowell would be delighted if she ran in Dublin Bay South as an Independent. Kate can run for the Dáil, and he can run for the Seanad.’
Ms O’Connell has also been linked to the Social Democrats. A source added: ‘It would have to be an offer she couldn’t refuse to get her back.’
Ms O’Connell has said that she intends to take a number of weeks to consider her position.