Clendennen and Feighery to contest Fine Gael convention in Tullamore

Local councillors John Clendennen and Neil Feighery will contest the Fine Gael general election selection convention for the new three-seater Offaly constituency later this month.

Candidate nominations for the convention, which will be held in the Tullamore Court Hotel at 7.30pm on Thursday, August 29, closed on Wednesday of this week.

It's understood that the nominations of Feighery, from Blueball, Tullamore, and Clendennen, from Kinnitty, Birr, were the only two received by the party ahead of Wednesday's closing date.

The next general election will bring an end to the current five-seat Laois - Offaly constituency, which will be replaced with separate three-seat constituencies in both Offaly and Laois.

It's not clear whether Fine Gael will settle on a one-candidate or two-candidate strategy in the Faithful County, but when contacted by the Offaly Independent this week Cllr Clendennen expressed his own view on the matter.

"I would imagine the best strategy would be a one-candidate strategy, in which a candidate is selected and the party rolls in behind that candidate to ensure that we return a seat for Offaly in the next Dáil," he said.

Cllr Feighery told the Offaly Independent he was "well-placed to challenge for a Dáil seat and take a Dáil seat," having topped the poll in the Tullamore area, with 1,962 first preferences, at the local elections in June.

He said he was "in two minds" about whether he would favour a one-candidate or two-candidate strategy, saying the party's 300-odd delegates in the county would ultimately have to have their say on the issue.

"We have a new constituency, which takes in the full county of Offaly, and I think that brings with it new opportunities," he said.

"John is a good colleague and a fine candidate but sometimes geography plays a part in these decisions...

“I think Fine Gael will find it difficult to leave me off the ticket, coming from the county town and with a large hinterland around the (Tullamore) area also."

Cllr Feighery said that if he and Cllr Clendennen were both selected there was a possibility that they could be "complementary" to one another, because they are from different parts of the county.

He noted that there was also a "strong Independent" in the county, in Deputy Carol Nolan, but said he disagreed with her positions on many issues and was ready to challenge her on those.

"I think it's healthy for the Fine Gael party to have a contest, as it brings new energy," he said.

"I've been getting good engagement from the delegates so far. There's a lot to play for over the next two weeks."

He added that Simon Harris becoming Taoiseach had given Fine Gael a lift and that he knew the party leader well, having previously served with him in Young Fine Gael.

"When we were in Young Fine Gael together he was known at the time as 'the young Taoiseach', which turned out to be prophetic!" he said.