Murphy to consider over weekend running as Independent in Roscommon
Senator Eugene Murphy says he is disappointed that Fianna Fáil decided not to add him to the ticket for Roscommon-Galway for the upcoming election after all his years with the party, but will “take the weekend to take stock” of his options for running as an independent in the constituency.
Senator Murphy recently lost out to GP Martin Daly, who is based in Ballygar on the Galway side of the border, by just eight votes at the Fianna Fáil selection convention for the Roscommon-Galway constituency.
Fianna Fáil had directed that only one candidate be chosen for the constituency at the convention.
Senator Murphy said that the race for the nomination was very tight, and following the result, the local delegates “voted unanimously” to ask for him to be added to the ticket.
The senator said he has been a member of Fianna Fáil since he was 15, and when he was elected to Roscommon County Council at 24, he was the youngest ever councillor to be elected in the county.
He was elected to the Dáil in 2016 and said he narrowly lost out being reelected in 2020 when the constituency was changed.
Senator Murphy said he was contacted yesterday (Wednesday) by Fianna Fáil General Secretary Sean Dorgan, “who said, 'The news isn't good', and that they had decided not to add a second name to the list.
The senator said he did not argue with Dorgan about the decision, but saw it as a “door closed on me from Fianna Fáil”.
“When I hung up the phone, I felt a great sense of loss”.
He emphasised that he accepts that Dr Daly won the convention, but as the doctor is based in Galway, he wanted to continue to represent Fianna Fáil in Roscommon,
He also felt let down after having worked so hard for the party over the years, but knew that “politics can be rough and tough”.
Senator Murphy said he was talking to his family, friends, and the Fianna Fáil local grassroots about the option of running as an independent in the upcoming election.
As he still had some people he needed to talk to, he would take this weekend to reach out to everyone he felt should be consulted, due to the support they had given him down through the years.
“Families take on a lot of suffering in times like these. They know I love what I do and I'm passionate about it.
“I am still a member of Fianna Fáil. But we are on the edge of a general election, so I would need to make a decision soon.
“The main thing is that this is not about Eugene Murphy; this is about having a Fianna Fáil candidate in Roscommon. This will be the first time there is no Fianna Fáil candidate in the county,” the senator concluded.