Gooch rules out Fine Gael run for General Election

FINE Gael’s hope of having a celebrity on the General Election ticket have been dashed this week after it is understood that Colm ‘ The Gooch’ Cooper ruled out running for the party in Kerry.

His name had been widely touted as a potential candidate in recent months but a Cooper tilt at Leinster house was firmly ruled out this week.

Cooper – whose late father was heavily involved in the party in Killarney – would have been a strong choice for Fine Gael as the five-time All-Ireland winner is universally popular. However, sources close to the Kerry GAA icon have said that he is not interested.

The party is having trouble securing a second candidate to run alongside Minister Brendan Griffin in a bid to take two seats in the five-seater constituency.

Prior to the last General Election the party had two seats in Kerry – held by Deputy Jimmy Deenihan and Deputy Brendan Griffin – and they are keen for two seats again. A convention has not yet been held in Kerry by Fine Gael though Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have named their candidates for the General Election.

Another potential Kerry candidate mooted is Cllr Aoife Thornton. She too has ruled herself out of running saying that she was not in a position to seek a Dáil seat at this point. Meanwhile, Cllr Mike Kennelly has declared his interest in running.