BY JACKIE KEOGH
A FINE Gael councillor, who was co-opted to Cork County Council in March 2022, has been selected to stand in the Bantry Electoral Area by an overwhelming vote at the party’s selection convention last Friday night.
Fine Gael party headquarters issued a directive to select a single candidate for the Bantry area and it went to a vote between the sitting councillor Caroline Cronin from Schull and Skibbereen’s Mary Lou Leahy. Of the 95 votes cast on the night, Cllr Cronin secured the lion’s share. Her 73 votes over Mary Lou Leahy’s 22 means she will now be on the party ticket for the local elections on June 7th next. ‘That’s 217 days away,’ Cllr Cronin joked at the convention at the Westlodge Hotel on Friday night.
The councillor told the 150 attendees – 95 of whom had voting rights – that she was honoured to have secured the nomination. ‘It’s a fantastic opportunity to build on the work that has already been achieved at local and national level by former Fine Gael representatives, such as the inimitable Paddy Sheehan, Noel Harrington, and Mary Hegarty,’ she said.
The Fine Gael party has now concluded all of its selections in West Cork, having selected six candidates across the three electoral areas.
‘Our focus will be to return all six as councillors,’ said Cllr Cronin. ‘It is also our aim to build a strong base to represent all of our constituents, and help the party regain one of the three Cork South West seats at the next general election.
‘I’m very happy to be part of such a strong election team – from Beara to Bantry to the Mizen – and I’m very much looking forward to next summer’s election,’ she added. ‘Anyone who knows me knows that I will continue to work hard for my community.’
