Fianna Fáil is to conduct a private opinion poll of Galway City Central and its findings will determine whether Martin Quinn or Ollie Crowe will join Cllr John Connolly on the party ticket.
Galway City Central is the ‘Group of Death’ for June’s Local Elections. The four seat ward is home to Mayor Padraig Conneely, Cllr Billy Cameron, Cllr John Connolly, and Cllr Colette Connolly - all are heavy hitters and none will be easy to dislodge.
However Fianna Fáil will be running two candidates here to ensure Cllr Connolly has transfers should he need them. Also, if Cllr Colette Connolly stumbles on the day, Fianna Fáil and the Greens will seek to capitalise on that, hence the need to run two on the ticket.
The ward is divided between those who support a Quinn candidacy and those who want Crowe on the ticket. Both men are based in the east of the ward (unlike the four sitting councillors ) and would have this area almost to themselves. Both also are well known within their local communities and would have decent base support to start off with.
It is understood that the recent interview process of candidates resulted in Mr Crowe being seen as the man to select. However supporters of Mr Quinn pushed hard for their man and so it was decided that a poll should be taken.
The poll of Galway City Central should help FF decide which of the two should run. It is understood it will be conducted among the general public and will feature the declared candidates from all the parties as well as Messrs Quinn and Crowe.
Once the results are tallied and analysed, the party will then make its decision on who to select based on which of the two men performs best in the poll.
