Three Fianna Fail candidates confirmed for Carlow-Kilkenny to contest upcoming General Election
Tanáiste Micheál Martin said he was confident that Fianna Fáil will poll well in Kilkenny
Local councillor Peter 'Chap' Cleere has been officially nominated by Fianna Fáil to run in the next general election, joining sitting TDs John McGuinness and Jennifer Murnane O'Connor on the ticket.
A selection convention took place yesterday (Monday) evening. During a recent visit to Kilkenny, Tanáiste Micheál Martin said he was confident that Fianna Fáil will poll well in Kilkenny in the upcoming general election after enjoying ‘a stunning performance’ in the local elections in June.
“We got 37% of the vote in the last general election. We had a very good local election result. We had a stunning performance with 11 councillors elected. We are in a robust position,” he said.
The Tánaiste also remarked that that Cllr Chap Cleere is ‘a strong candidate’ in the upcoming elections and that Deputy John McGuinness is ‘an outstanding TD’.
Cllr Cleere was re-elected at June's local elections, once again topping the poll in the Callan-Thomastown Municipal District. He received 2,057 first preferences in the Callan Thomastown local electoral area, more than 600 votes above the quota. He has been a county councillor for the past 10 years, having served as council chairman and mayor - and is currently vice chairman of Kilkenny County Council. He hopes to win back the seat previously held by Bobby Aylward in South Kilkenny.