Fine Gael select two candidates in Roscommon/Galway

Following a recommendation from party headquarters, delegates at the Fine Gael selection convention for Roscommon/Galway have selected two candidates to contest the upcoming general election.

As was widely expected, one of the two successful candidates is sitting Cllr for the Athlone municipal district of Roscommon County Council, John Naughten, who is based in Drum and is the brother of outgoing Independent TD, Denis Naughten.

Cllr Naughten defeated Ballinasloe-based Senator Aisling Dolan, by 123 votes to 113 in a head to head contest, following the withdrawal of Galway-based Cllr, Alan Harney from the contest.

The second candidate is Dympna Daly-Finn, who is based in the north Roscommon area of Arigna, and was narrowly defeated for a council seat in the Boyle area in the recent local elections.

The convention, which took place on Friday night last in the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon town, was chaired by MEP Maria Walsh. A directive from party HQ stipulated that members should select two candidates to represent both the northern and southern part of the constituency.

Cllr Naugthen's bid to secure the party nomination was strongly endorsed by his brother, Denis, who has already announced his intention not to seek re-election to the Dail.

In a social media post earlier this month, Deputy Naughten said anyone who had met his brother, John in his role as Cllr knows how "dedicated and committed he is to help every person that he meets."

He went on to describe him as an "extremely capable and competent politician" and said he believed he would make "an excellent TD."

See full story in this week's copy of the Westmeath Independent, which comes out on Wednesday.