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Updated 12.30pm
FORMER MINISTER MARY Hanafin will contest the general election for Fianna Fáil after being added to the party’s ticket in Dún Laoghaire.
The former TD lost out to fellow councillor Cormac Devlin at the party’s selection convention on Monday night, but Fianna Fáil’s national constituencies committee (NCC) confirmed this morning she had been added to the ticket.
Devlin said that the decision “dramatically reduces” Fianna Fáil’s chances of winning a seat in four-seat Dún Laoghaire, which is effectively only three seats as Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett is automatically re-elected.
Meanwhile, there was dismay elsewhere in the party’s constituency organisation, with one source describing the decision as “a complete joke”.
NCC chairman Michael Moynihan insisted that the pair will work together to “maximise the party’s vote in order retake a Fianna Fáil seat” in the important Dublin constituency.
The battle for selection has attracted much media attention in recent weeks after Devlin threatened legal action if a gender directive was imposed. A councillor in the area since 2004, he faced competition from both Hanafin and Kate Feeney.
In the end, Fianna Fáil hierarchy told members to just select one candidate – a strategy which each of the three contestants had said represented the party’s best chance of taking a seat.
However after Devlin won, it was mooted that another candidate could be added in order to comply with new rules that all parties must ensure a third of their candidates are female.
Speaking to Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One earlier, Hanafin acknowledged the “big challenge” ahead to get elected in the constituency.
“I’m really very excited by the prospect,” she said, before giving a shout-out to a rival’s comeback.
I’m really interested to see Frances Fitzgerald who actually lost her Dáil seat, who served in the Seanad for five years, came back and was made a minister and now you’re all talking about her as a future Taoiseach.
Meanwhile, Devlin made clear his intention to concentrate on his own campaign.
“My constituents want me to focus on issues like housing, crime and childcare,” he said in a statement issued minutes after the announcement.
He wished Hanafin well “on a personal level”, noting that he’s had a “strong working relationship” with her since her return to politics. However, he was not shy to disagree with the party’s strategy shift.
“I remain of the view that a one-candidate strategy is preferable,” he said.
That was the agreed strategy of the party and all three potential candidates. I will, nevertheless, work closely with the local organisation and Mary to ensure the party has the best possible chance of winning a seat.
“Obviously this decision dramatically reduces the chances of Fianna Fáil securing a seat in Dún Laoghaire, but this just means that myself and party members will work even harder than before.”
Fianna Fáil sources in Dún Laoghaire hit out at the decision, one describing it as a “complete joke” which made a mockery of party leader Micheál Martin’s rhetoric about introducing new candidates.
“Old school politics alive and well – change the rhetoric to suit the situation,” they said.
- additional reporting from Hugh O’Connell
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What’s the point in having local selection meetings then?
To not select and then select to gain publicity
The Firm, still in operation.
You mean by overruling a democratic choice in favour of what the hierarchy of the party want? I’m not sure why people would be surprised isn’t that the FF way?
FF will never learn will they? Putting Hannafin, a member of the top table of the Bertie Brigade up for election is insulting the Irish people. It’s akin to say ‘lads we fu cked ye over good..crawled back under our rocks
but we want back in again’….
Don’t forget Micheál Martin was a part of that group as well Tony. In fact he’s the person who gave us the political career killer that is the HSE in all it’s bloated and budget-destroying glory.
To give a false sense of power???
Michael Martin is totally shameless. Most of the FFailure old guard must have no moral compass or sense of humility.
Or seat in the Dail…
Hanafin should retire,we need fresh faces,these dinosaurs only care for their ego’s.
Just look at the Face on her, cringe worthy, She is like the granny you never want to visit……..
God help us.
P.S. is that construed as a personal attack?
She looks like a blonde Chinese person
Now I want to see her in a video reading mean journal comments “She looks like a blonde Chinese person”
Curious that this is being spun as a story about ‘party bosses’ or some malevolent old firm pulling strings. The real villains here are the ‘equality’ quangos and NGOs who lobbied hard to get this discrimination on the statute books with fines for any political party who dared allow its members to select candidates of their own choice. So how about the banking lobby being allowed to get its way and insist that if political parties don’t run a certain quota of its preferred candidates, political parties are fined????
I said exactly that, in a comment here on the Journal, after their election convention, FF and democracy don’t go hand in hand, never have and never will.
This has nothing to do with gender equality. It is the retention of the old FF ‘dynasty’ families’ preservation system. Her father, Dessie, ex-longtime FF Senator ( old brigade) and party ‘banker’, the born-again super-Catholic, who was vehemently against the gay marriage equality , is probably still pulling strings. She inherited the parachute, like the Haugheys and Lenihans and I’d say that Micheal will have to find landing places for them.
I hope neither get elected.
She has retired with a pension of €2500 a week
NO, they will never learn. Last general election they put up Mary Hannafin and 1 of the Andrews as both were sitting TD. They split the vote, and neither got elected. The same will probably happen this time. They may be afraid she might decide to stand as an Independent if she was not added to the ticked, like she did in the local elections last year.
@Kate Ellen Egan,
Don’t forget her teaching job is kept for her if she ever want’s it.
An what will they do only vote them in so we deserve what we get.
Entitlement personified.
She’s entitled to run, and the people are entitled to vote how they wish.
That’s democracy :)
She’s entitled to run in her own right but I don’t see how she has a right to run under the party when the constituency members of her own party haven’t selected her to represent them. I hope it splits whatever vote they might have and don’t get any seats out of it.
Splitting the vote is exactly what it will do. But fair play to the young fella running against her from FF. He threatened legal action if they pushed him aside. He was dead right. It’s appalling sexism.
I hope it works in his favour, as much as I don’t like FF, I’d vote for him to keep her out.
Markonline you can vote for anyone other than ff you know.
no fozz you miss the point..she didnt win the vote…thats democracy….its like lisbon all over again..we will get the result we want anyway regardless of the way the vote goes..
Can this woman just not retire and go away to enjoy her big fat pension – this is the old guard again pulling their weight over democracy – she was not nominated , cried bitterly and as a sweetener she has been put back on – total disrespect for other candidates and a typical Berty manoeuvre.
She has family members who need a “trip” to Leinster House.
She is a dead ringer for Clive Dunn in Dads Army and about as useful.
There were FF councillors in Cork complaining that Hanafin was pulling strokes to get family members sorted into positions right up ’til the day they (FF) got kicked out of office.
You wouldn’t trust her as far as you could spit.
Wouldn’t surprise me a bit… Just go away hanafin, you’re not wanted..
FF did the dirt in Dublin West with silver spoon fed Chambers being nominated by the old guard. FF will not win a seat in either constituency.
“Frances Fitsgerald who lost her dail seat and then served five years in the seanad” All thats wrong with Irish politics in one sentence.
And to think, idiots in this country actually voted to keep that retirement home.
I know we wanted to give Enda a kicking, but that was about the only proposal of his I actually liked. We should have bitten his hand off and dumped the Seanad in the dustbin of history.
I can’t believe anyone thought it could be reworked into a viable institution. It’s been two years, and it’s the exact same.
That’s because there is no political will to even attempt to reform this country.
Failed politicians need to be whined off the gravy train that’s the porpoise of the Seanad. And Kenny made sure the ballot papers were rigged when the country voted to get rid of it. It’s the equivalent of been job shy on social welfare but grossly over paid.
What are the odds that gender quotas and not actual merit played a part in this decision?
There are no odds. It’s a certainty.
Id say neither had anything to do with the decision.
I remember Mary Hannifin in the last FF Government I did not think much of her then and my views on her have not changed. Why she should put herself forward again brings everything bad in reminders in FF. I thought they would want to forget the do or bust days and while she is around there’s no hope of that.
Mary, you’ve had your career. It’s well past time for you to bow out gracefully. You’ve have done all you can for (to) Ireland.
In case anyone has forgotten, whilst in Cowen’s Government, she was Minister at the following Departments:
Tourism
Culture
Sport
Enterprise
Trade
Social Affairs
Family Affairs
AND was Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil.
In Bertie’s Government right before that, she ran:
Education
Science
Children
Government Chief Whip
Time to retire, Mary.
Ministers do not ‘run’ departments, the civil servants do that no matter who is in government. Ministers just pose and posture and pull strings to keep their families tied to the pork barrel.
Ff will come up with some excuse as to why they didn’t win the election but will ignor the truth that people won’t vote for them after what they did to the country when they were in power
it’s BAU for all the main parties!! they dont give a d&mn and the recession (what recession!) never happened
if we want change we are going to have to stop voting for ff fg and lb
Who is left Richard ?
Moron Richard
Sorry meant Moron Alan
If people stopped voting ff it would at least be a start.
It could be a good idea to have people anti canvassing for this hag in that constituency. Informing people of what she actually did the last time she was elected.
People already know, I once heard it summed up as this ” I’m voting for my party not him”.It’s the same with all parties.
would she not just go away and enjoy the hefty pension we are paying for her
Never forget that Fianna Fail got us in this mess in the first place. And then Fine Gael and Labour made it worse.
at least the summer finally arrived…….. up ya boya !
@Bobby not too sure about that. Growth this year will probably hit 6% and unemployment continues to fall. Hardly “worse”!!
Tell that to the poor unfortunates sleeping on hospital trolleys, people been forced to go and work on scambridge, to mothers and fathers who had to say goodbye to their loved ones seeking work abroad, the people forced to sleep on the streets with their children, the people who lost respite carers allowance, the people forced to pay property tax by revenue, the list goes on and on.. .
Oh yeah, we are in recovery allright.
I’d rather vote for Putin or Assad than any Fianna Fáil candidate. Just can’t understand why this woman won’t simply retire on her very generous pensions?
The chance of even more pensions, an inflated sense of self-worth or perhaps both.
her daddy was a self-righteous obnoxious little pain in the hole too if i recall…
If anyone votes for her and she gets in, it’s a disgrace, harking back to the days when her and her crony loving colleagues ruined the country.. And will only cement in my mind that in fact the youth of today are not ruining this country but in fact the old and middle aged are..
What a kick in the teeth this must be for feeney . Another 4-5 years as a councillor before she gets another chance .
She needs to leave politics and actually get a REAL job.
Weren’t her parents FF councilors or at least one of them? Just stupid a young person entering politics because they view it as the ‘family business’….
Her brother occupied a senate seat for a while that was about it nothing to add
Do FF never learn ? If this windbag gets elected there is no hope.
If we want a complete change vote for SF, and live in a terrorist friendly country that would be despised and shunned by the rest of the civilised world.
Indeed just like Northern Ireland is despised and shunned by the rest of the civilised world , you are some stooge lol
Don’t mind Pat, he’s just a little upset that Gerry Adams won’t be prosecuted.
Northern Ireland is ridiculous in the eyes of the rest of the world it is a basket case.
Really Neil? As far as I’ve seen, many people abroad don’t even know what’s happening there or the history of the issues there even here in Europe.
It’s one of the top 5 questions asked of me abroad because people don’t understand or don’t know about it.
Thought it was an odd comment as well, Northern Ireland is literally seen as one of the most racist, bigoted and troubled places in the civilised world. It’s completely shunned and despised, just look at its immigration rates – nobody in their right mind would live there because of its reputation.
Don’t hold back, Rochelle.
Then take a look at where some of the best restaurants and bars are on this island.
too funny!!!
I hate to be that guy but…..”there *are* only three seats available” not “there is only three seats”.
Also it’s Frances Fitzgerald, not Francis !
Mary King,
Must remember to be proper and correct when I see your name popping up on the Journal.ie. One question why go to the trouble of pointing a tiny error out where will it get you other than a few reds or maybe green I thought other places school might be more for your little game of word spell and correction. Don’t see much of it any more on the Journal what a relief
ur ded rite allen scot gramrn spelngs 4 idjits
Whatever about the grammar, Francis is a man, Frances is a woman.
LOL Idiot
Who gives a shite about francie,francis, frances fitzgerald…..another chancer of the highest order.
“Maximise the party vote to take A [. . ] SEAT ” says it all really when you added a second candidate doesn’t it
As i think was expected Hannafin was added as National Commitee have no confidence in other Candidate.
Gender quota. Don’t ya just love it!
we need more fluid gender people. that might help
Good point… Maybe all the politicians who feel gender quotas are undemocratic should identify and insist they are recorded as gender non-descript for quota purposes.
Cannot stand this despicable excuse for a human being. We need to get regressives like her out of politics.
f^ckin Cosa Nostra wouldn’t have a patch on fiann fail!
The same can be said for all the parties and even the independents are just there to entertain us.
It makes you sick, We have a fg/labour government who don’t now their right from their left & now Mary Hannafin coming back into the fold what a shower of shite, I hope the people will do the right thing when election time comes around, All these arse holes are doing is playing with tax payers money & all we’re doing is sitting back & talking about it?
This has been in play for some time, it was well known that Mary will run one way or another in order to get re-elected to the Dail. After the local elections I have said that the people of Blackrock should have been ashamed of themselves for bringing this woman back into the fold. Mary went on record before to say that Fianna Fail stand for nothing and she was right, all they care about is getting a seat, you can even hear it when being interviewed, the party this, the party that. Well I say hell with the party what about the people, Cormac was selected to run and they run rough shot over the democratic process. We need a real alternative to these parties as we seem to be stuck in a form of political insanity repeating the same mistakes over again. I am considering running myself, the main parties need to be challenged in order for real choice to be available. I hope that the electorate will bring their brains to the polling station this time around and make a real impact.
yaaay, my day is made, now back to work to pay taxes that will be well spent.
living beyond ours means? me h0le !!!!
we are back in business baby !!!!!!
Pro-Life Mary and her ilk will have us back in the dark ages. The power of the church and a family name means a lot to FF, if we had a fair justice system most TDs in that party would be in prison for corruption. This woman is typical FF in so far as her arrogance and smugness while in power was sickening. She hasn’t changed and by the looks of things neither has FF. most people will be sickened by this.
I’m in favour of this or anything else that splits the FF vote causing them to lose a seat
Everyone in this country irrespective of party needs to step back and reflect on what each and every one of these career politicians has done to damage our country before giving them a vote in the next election. Not one of them has any achievements of which they can be proud so it’s time to vote responsibly and not just because your family always voted for a party for some long forgotten and ridiculous reason.
This is an attempt to shaft the promising young man, Cllr Cormac Devlin, by the failed old guard in Fianna Fail. There should be a revolt against Mary Hanafin’s good friend, FF leader Micheal Martin, by the party membership over this (there will probably will be a revolt by the voters anyway).
Old Fianna Fail, led by Martin, might today have made it a lot more difficult for Cormac Devlin to win a seat in Dail Eireann for his constituency of Dun Laoghaire, but with his triumph at the Fianna Fail selection convention Cllr Devlin has won the moral victory, in any case.
Big deal!! Just don’t vote for her. Problem solved.
crazy sense talk. the very nerve, stop that !
Stay onpenis on Mary.
Thanks autocorrect. That should have been:
Stay on pension Mary.
no means no Mary
they will be wiped out anyway, this betters the chances of the people.
If voters are rational this shouldn’t make a difference. Fianna Fáil supporters who prefer Hanafin but would have voted for Devlin had Hanafin not been available will now give their No. 1 to Hanafin and their No. 2 to Devlin (and vice versa). Those who would vote for one of the candidates but not the other will still do so.
Of course, if voters were rational they wouldn’t be voting for Fianna Fáil.
feel sorry for devlin but i hope hanafin gets her smug face rubbed into it.when she was minster for social welfare she was a arrogant bitch and didn’t care a jot about the people on social welfare
Almost no point voting… Sean Barrett’s automatically elected, FG are I presume going to run Mary Mitchell O’Conner who is a useless wagon I can’t stand and won’t vote for even if I want to see FG get numbers. Won’t vote Hannifin now that she’s there to fill a quota ahead of a more suitable male candidate.
Is there anyone else left in DLR that stands a chance of getting in and isn’t SF/Looney left independent?
Anything would be better than whats in government at the moment & I mean anything, I hope the people of Ireland will bring their brains to polling stations when the time comes? Enough is Enough, I don’t want to see more Cowboys squandering our money like the shower that’s inside, As for Hannafin im sure she hasn’t a snowballs chance in hell of being elected, if she doe’s get elected…well then there’s something seriously wrong
I liked he country better under Fianna Fáil.
They totally screwed us but at least they bought us dinner first.
and hot tubs, please wont someone think of the poor hot tubs now filled with kids bikes, muck & empty beer cans, like a celtic chalice of broken dreams……. *mmmffffff
come on Mary do the business, lets get this moaning nation back to the good old credit days, sure the germans have bigger issues now, in we go an grab some pensions, the germans still don’t know hoe to spend it on the craic !
The good news looks like Sean Barret is on the way out.
As a landscape, monument or an eyesore? What lol.
Like Ireland Inc needs another school teacher at the helms #joke #completejoke
Is this Fianna Fáil Nua, or Nua Fianna Fáil or Renua Fianna Fáil, or just same old Fianna Fáil???
After the Mothers fall and the undisclosed sum, to me she is from a money grabbing Family.
They taught her well. Never miss a trick.
I just hope the people will not vote for her ever again with her stupid grin.
@john paul kearney..im 100%behind you there..id nearly consider running myself aswell..time to get these old money grabbers out of the dail..ireland needs now more than ever young people to put their name forward for elections..dilute the votes on the same old parties
This owl wan was a failure the first time around, my granny has a better chance winning the election than this one snd she died in 1955 !
Fitzgerald lost her seat in Dublin bay south, and was reelected to Dublin West. it’s not comparible. surprised slimy Barry Andrews didn’t contest it. with three seats up for grabs it will likely be Mary Mitchell O Connor being re elected, Richard Boyd Barrett, and the third seat is anyone’s guess. Labour won’t get it, previously the greens held it so my guess would be a left leaning party – ff unlikely due to split support, which is a good thing. Mary better pray that Barrett retires from politics
So Mary Mitchell and Mark Hanafin will win the seats
Who says middle ages women without husbands are invisible
Same old politics.
Woo Hoo !!!
Seriously Mary Hanafin…..step aside and allow young Fianna Fail come through. ….you had your chance and you made a complete mess of our country during boom times…..you come across as smug,well heeled, untouched by woes,self centred,and uncaring ….If you have such a strong desire to help (as you most definitely do not have leadership qualities….you are not inspirational.)use your teaching skills to teach English free of charge of course to our new refugees. If you are so addicted to politics run as an independent and let’s see your true metal.
You have a Teachers Pension,TD Pension,Severence Pay,and you don’t take €30000 councillor pay…..your some tulip….and brass neck…..your harming FF….
Same circus, different clowns zzzzzzzzz
cant believe they have elected her to run again, the arrogant ff seem to think people have forgotton the recent past, this former ff minister took a payoff after leaving office , she has a pension , and a councilers expenses, now she wants more….. are we that stupid
A farce. Old guard rears its ugly head. Just a merry-go-round. More accumulation of personal pension pot ?
Let them cut their own throats. Same old guard that sold ireland.
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