Feeley rules out adding name to ff election ticket

Local Fianna Fail Councillor and previous General Election hopeful, John Paul Feeley has ruled out the possibility of his name being added as third party candidate to a potential ballot line-up.

He has furthermore risked the ire of Fianna Fail hierarchy by criticising the party nationally for its failure to take “proper account” of the views of the membership across the entire Constituency of the new Sligo/ Leitrim/ West Cavan/ South Donegal.

The Constituency Committee of Fianna Fail is at present meeting once again with all those who contested or were nominated to contest the recent convention for the Sligo Leitrim Constituency which includes a significant part of Co Cavan and part of South Donegal.

“I have made clear to them my view that the strategy adopted at Convention was fundamentally wrong and now leaves the Party with no option but to add a third candidate,” Cllr Feeley said in a statement released yesterday evening (Wednesday, May 6).

“I have at all times made clear my view the there is the strong possibility of two seats in this constituency, but that is dependant on the right candidate strategy being two candidates located to sensibly divide this vast constituency,” he stated.

Cllr Feeley was one of a number of elected members from throughout the region nominated to contest a recent party convention which took place in Sligo, and which eventually saw two Sligo-based candidates, Senator Marc MacSharry and former TD Eamon Scanlon added to the ticket.

But Cllr Feeley has said the Constituency Committee must now deal with the consequences of not determining a more strategic approach to where candidates were selected from, and suggested come election time Fianna Fail may lose more than just votes as a result.

“I have made clear from the time of the Convention that I believe the strategy deployed is flawed and that I do not wish to be considered by the Constituency Committee and the Ard Comhairle. The Party nationally has failed to take proper account of the views of the membership across the entire Constituency and seem focused solely on the old Sligo/North Leitrim Constituency,” Cllr Feeley said.