NEWS THAT FORMER government chief whip John Curran is considering making a political comeback has reignited speculation about which ministers from the last government could be plotting a Dáil return.
There are not many in the mix at the moment given the considerable unpopularity of the Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition in its final days in office.
But that hasn’t deterred some who lost their Dáil seats in 2011 from sussing out whether they could launch an election bid. Here’s a quick lost of who’s considering a possible comeback…
Eamon Ryan
As TheJournal.ie revealed recently, the former communications minister will be running for the Green Party in the highly-competitive Dublin Bay South constituency at the next election. That’s of course once he’s selected by the Green Party later this month. Ryan has a strong chance of winning a seat and returning his party to the Dáil after its 2011 wipeout.
Mary Hanafin
The former education minister is making lots of noise out in Dún Laoghaire having fought a high-profile battle to get on the Fianna Fáil ticket for the local elections. She’s tipped to win the party’s nomination to run for the Dáil when a selection convention is held in the coming months. Hannifin told TheJournal.ie today that she will “certainly be putting my name forward”.
Mary Coughlan
The former tánaiste is being coy about her intentions but there’s no doubt she’s strongly considering seeking her party’s nomination in Donegal. She argues that a lot of Fianna Fáil members locally want her to run, but adds that she’s had no communciations from headquarters.
Seán Haughey
The son of the late taoiseach is targeting the party’s nomination in Dublin Bay North, even referring to himself as a councillor for that constituency on his website. He’s been testing the waters after the recent RTÉ drama and his recently-changed Twitter bio refers to him as having a “strong independent streak”. If he doesn’t get the Fianna Fáil nod, could he go independent?
Ciaran Cuffe
The former junior minister was elected to Dublin City Council for the Green Party in May’s local elections and could be in with a shout of running for the Dail in a northside constituency. He was previously a TD in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and told TheJournal.ie he was considering a Dáil bid. “I’m having a long, hard think about things,” he said.
John Curran
As we’re reporting this morning, the former minister of state is mulling over the possibility of seeking the Fianna Fáil nomination to run in Dublin Mid-West.
John O’Donoghue
The former ceann comhairle, who resigned in a storm of controversy in 2009, is said to be considering a Dáil run having lost his seat in Kerry at the last election. Some say he’s “political toast” but the man known as ‘The Bull’ could yet make a dramatic comeback.
Conor Lenihan
The former junior minister was adopting “a never say never” approach when asked about the possibility of a political comeback last August. The former Dublin South-West TD has not made any noises lately and Fianna Fáil is likely to back John Lahart for the nomination in that constituency. But could Lenihan pop-up elsewhere?
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