Once the Christmas and New Year festivities are over and Ireland settles down to the winter of discontent of the recession, local politicians will hit the campaign trail in earnest for June’s Local Elections.
There are 15 seats on the Galway City Council, divided among three wards. So far 23 individuals have declared they will run. Another two from Fianna Fáil will be chosen after Christmas and doubtless a number of other Independents will declare in the New Year.
In the five seat Galway City West ward, the candidates are John Mulholland and Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael ), Niall MacNeilus (Labour ), Peter Keane (Fianna Fáil ), Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green ), Donal Lyons and Catherine Connolly (Independents ). There is a possibility that Phelim O’Neill may run as the second Fianna Fáil candidate.
In the four seat Galway City Central ward, the candidates are John Connolly (Fianna Fáil ), Mayor Padriag Conneely (Fine Gael ), Billy Cameron and Colette Connolly (Labour ), Maíread Ní Chroínín (Greens ), and Mike Cubbard (Independent ). FF has yet to decide if Ollie Crowe or former mayor Martin Quinn will join Cllr Connolly on the ticket.
In the six seat Galway City East ward the candidates are Cllr Michael J Crowe and Cllr Mary Leahy (Fianna Fáil ), Cllr Brian Walsh (Fine Gael ), Cllr Tom Costello, Derek Nolan, and Nuala Nolan (Labour ), James Hope (Green ), Martin Concannon (Sinn Féin ), and Cllr Declan McDonnell and Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Independents ).
