FIVEUPFORFINEGAELNOMINATION
Mallow Electoral Area candidates to be selected on Sunday evening No decision yet on how many FG candidates will be on final ticket
THE Fine Gael (FG) party is putting forward five candidates for selection to contest the local elections in the Mallow Local Electoral Area on May 24.
The selection convention will be held this Sunday evening at the Hibernian Hotel in Mallow. Cllr John Paul O’Shea’s brother, Tony, is hoping to follow in his brother’s footsteps and clinch a spot on the FG ticket for May. He is a selector with Kilshannig GAA and is the Kilshannig Community Alert organiser.
Farmer Donal Buckley of Ballyclough, who recently completed a term on the board of Dairygold Co- Op, has thrown his name into the hat, as has Brian Hyde of Mallow who is the owner of the horticultural business, ‘ Company of Plants’ and is chairman of the M20 motorway lobby group, the Cork/Limerick Alliance.
Mourneabbey’s Liam Madden is also hoping to make the ticket. As chairman of the local Community Council, he spearheaded Mourneabbey’s sports complex development.
Mallow-based Cian Moriarty, who works as a solicitor in Cork, is another potential future candidate for the May elections. He has experience in the voluntary sector which includes working with the housing charity, Threshold, the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) and the Centre for Independent Living.
Last June’s boundary review saw the Mallow region emerge as a stand-alone five seater district, representing a population of some 30,000.
It encompasses Mallow town and a broad rural hinterland, including the villages of Churchtown, Liscarroll, Buttevant, Dromahane, Glantane, Burnfort, Grenagh as well as parts of Killavullen and Doneraile parishes.
Members of the 10 local FG branches eligible to vote have put forward the five candidates but a decision on the number of candidates which the party will field will be made closer to the convention date.
Up to 250 members are expected to vote on Sunday evening.