The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Mac’s Back: Tom McEllistrim announces bid for Seanad
AFTER a brief hiatus from active politics Tom McEllistrim has announced he will seek a seat on the Senate.
The former Kerry North Fianna Fáil TD and Kerry County Councillor confirmed this week that he plans to contest the upcoming Seanad Elections.
Mr McEllistrim, a farmer and former secondary school teacher, has said he will be seeking election to one of the 11 seats available on the Seanad’s Agricultural Panel.
Having served as a Fianna Fáil TD from 2002 he lost his Dáil seat at the 2011 General Election.
He was subsequently elected to Kerry County Council in 2014 but lost his council seat five years later at the 2019 Local Elections.
Since then the 51-year-old has not been involved in active politics.
Prior to losing his council seat Mr McEllistrim made a number of attempts to return to Leinster House and to national politics.
In 2015 he sought the Fianna Fáil nomination to represent the party in the newly created Kerry constituency at the 2016 General Election.
He was unsuccessful and was beaten to the Kerry nomination by then Fianna Fáil Councillor John Brassil.
Mr Brassil went on to win a seat for Fianna Fáil in 2016 however, he lost that to his running mate Norma Foley at this month’s General Election.
Having failed to secure the Fianna Fáil Dáil nomination in 2015 Tom McEllistrim, then a member of Kerry County Council, contested the 2016 Seanad Elections.
He sought a seat on the Industrial and Commercial Panel but was unsuccessful.
Mr McEllistrim is a member of one of Kerry’s most famous political dynasties.
His father and grandfather – both also named Tom – held seats in the Dáil for a combined total of 67 years between 1923 and 1992.
The family has played an influential role in Kerry and national politics dating back to 1914 and Mr McEllistirm’s father was a key supporter of Charles Haughey during his successful leadership bid in 1979.