O'Rourke to 'consider future' in politics after missing out on Seanad nomination

Fianna Fáil councillor Aengus O'Rourke said he is "extremely disappointed" and will spend the Christmas period reflecting on his future in politics after he failed to secure a nomination to contest the upcoming Seanad elections.

The Athlone man, who has been a local councillor for the last 15 years, said he was "never as well prepared" for a political campaign as he was for this Seanad election.

He contested the previous two Seanad elections, in 2016 and 2020, losing out by only six votes on the latter occasion and helping to elect three Fianna Fáil Senators from the redistribution of his 71,500 votes.

In 2020, his nomination to contest the Seanad elections came from the Irish Conference of Professional and Service Association (ICPSA).

This consists of the Defence Forces representative group PDFORRA, the Garda Representative Association (GRA), the Association of Garda Sergeants & Inspectors (AGSI), the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO), and Brokers Ireland.

"The ICPSA have 7 nominations, and for decades they have always provided at least four of these nominations to Fianna Fáil candidates," said Cllr O'Rourke.

"For example, in 2020 they nominated 5 (FF candidates): Aengus O'Rourke, Robbie Gallagher (Monaghan), Orla Leyden (Roscommon), John Hannifin (Tipperary) and Ned O'Sullivan (Kerry).

"Of these five only myself and Senator Robbie Gallagher were seeking a nomination on this occasion. There were of course others interested but nobody else who had contested before.

"However, in a bizarre and unprecedented move on this occasion the ICPSA decided to nominate only two, not five, Fianna Fáil candidates and also chose not to use all of their seven available nominations, but just five in total!"

Cllr O'Rourke said the retirement of Senator Shane Cassells in Meath had "created an opening for me," and he felt he was "best placed" to fill that vacancy.

"Robbie Gallagher (Monaghan) as a sitting Fianna Fáil Senator was always going to receive the first nomination from ICPSA, and because they decided to pick only two, they decided the second must be a woman, Margaret Murphy from Cork. Therefore, I was excluded.

"The ICPSA is very heavily weighted in favour of the GRA. The GRA is the larger organsiation within the ICPSA, so the GRA are always in the driving seat. They very much drove their agenda at this particular ICPSA meeting.

"I had great support from the other bodies, which I was very grateful for, but the GRA called the shots on the day, given their 40% weighting superiority."

"Senator Robbie Gallagher is an ex-member of An Garda Siochana and a former member of the GRA. Robbie was easily elected to the Senate on the last occasion for the second time. In 2020 he was the first elected for Fianna Fáil and was only 11 votes short of the quota on the first count. His seat on this occasion was never in danger.

"However, now with no Fianna Fáil nominee in the Midlands, East, Mid-West or West, Robbie Gallagher now, and for the first time, has half of Ireland to himself with no competition. This kind of exclusivity has never been afforded to a nominee in the past and, to my mind, is excessive."

Cllr O'Rourke said he had effectively been working towards this Seanad election for a decade, but that, having failed to secure a nomination to run, it was now out of his hands.

"I do not have a nomination. I can not run. And, in truth, I am extremely disappointed," he said.

"I felt I had a lot to offer on a national political level. I had many issues and priorities I wanted to advance for the Midlands region.

"There is no doubt that in terms of my political career, given my years of service and my preparedness on this occasion, my exclusion from the Senate contest is a major setback for me.

"Understandably, I am disillusioned and frustrated about politics at this time and, over the Christmas period, I will take time with my family to consider my political future.

"I want to thank the very many people who sent me good luck cards and messages of support for my Senate bid in recent weeks.

"In particular, I really appreciate all of the local support and encouragement. I am only sorry that I can not deliver a Senate seat for Athlone, South Westmeath and South Roscommon," he concluded.