WITH the upcoming Seanad elections, several West Cork public representatives have already hit the ground running and are canvassing their political colleagues to secure votes to take a seat in the upper house of the Oireachtas.
Two sitting West Cork councillors – FF’s Gillian Coughlan and FG’s Noel O’Donovan – are both hoping to be elected, while sitting Senator Tim Lombard is seeking to retain his seat on the agricultural panel.
Former Cork South West TD Margaret Murphy O’Mahony, who previously unsuccessfully contested the Seanad elections, is also hoping to secure a Seanad seat.
Both Sen Lombard, who missed out on a Dáil seat in Cork South West in last month’s general election, and Cllr Coughlan, received their nominations from the Munster Agricultural Society, while Cllr O’Donovan, who unsuccessfully ran for a Dáil seat in the recent general election, received the endorsement from his local constituency executive.
Speaking to The Southern Star, Cllr O’Donovan said he is proud to have been selected last week by Cork South West Fine Gael to contest the election.
‘I’ll be in a position to confirm in the coming weeks what panel I will be contesting when the Fine Gael nominations will be announced,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Bandon native and sitting Cork city Cllr Shane O’Callaghan, who failed to win a Dáil seat in Cork South Central in last month’s general election, is running on the Cultural and Educational panel, having been nominated by the Bar Association of Ireland and the Irish Dental Association.
Incidentally, his sister Nessa Cosgrove, a sitting Labour councillor in Sligo, is also seeking election to the Seanad.
Other councillors who have thrown their hat into the ring include Cllr Eileen Lynch (FG) as well as sitting Fianna Fáil councillors Bernard Moynihan and Gearóid Murphy.
