Three first time candidates - Nicola Deasy, Alan Cheevers, and David Burke - will join Fianna Fáil’s three sitting city councillors on the party ticket for the 2014 Local Elections.
Cllr Peter Keane and Mr Burke will run in Galway City West; Cllr Ollie Crowe and Ms Deacy will stand in Galway City Central; while Cllr Michael J Crowe and Alan Cheevers will run in Galway City East.
The candidate line-up is not surprising and had been flagged by party grassroots and political watchers for some time. Yet there is still much debate in Fianna Fáil circles around John Connolly, a councillor for Galway City Central from 2004 - 2009.
Many had expected him to make a comeback in this ward for 2014 and there was a feeling within FF that a Connolly-Crowe ticket would be in prime position to take a second seat in the ward. However it is increasingly likely that Mr Connolly will run for a county council seat and stand in the Barna area.
David Burke is thought to be one of the party’s strongest new candidates to take a seat in 2014. Speaking after the selection convention he outlined his priorities:
The development of real amenities and sporting facilities with proper funding from Galway City Council; tackling anti-social behaviour; supporting tourism initiatives such as the Rugby World Cup 2023; pushing the immediate building of the Galway City Outer Bypass; support for residents associations.
He added that the “role and level” of commercial rates in Galway city “needs to be looked at as well as efficiencies that can be brought about within Galway City Council in order to help businesses maintain and create jobs”.
