Fine Gael HQ directive to decide candidate strategy for General Election ticket in Roscommon-Galway

There is plenty of intrigue ahead of this evening’s Fine Gael selection convention which will decide its General Election ticket for the Roscommon-Galway constituency.

While the constituency organisation is recommending that two candidates should be selected - representing both the northern and southern part of the constituency - the ground rules for this evening’s convention won’t become clear until chairperson, MEP Maria Walsh, reads out a directive from party headquarters to the members.

The directive in selecting candidates could be based on a number of criterion such as geography and gender, and will also decide if one or two candidates will contest the convention for a place on the party ticket.

Up to two hundred members are expected to attend the convention, which gets underway at the Abbey Hotel in Roscommon this evening at 7.30 p.m..

Seeking the nomination are Drum-based councillor John Naughten, brother of outgoing Independent TD Denis Naughten; Senator Aisling Dolan and Cllr Alan Harney from Ballinasloe; and Arigna’s Dympna Daly-Finn, who narrowly missed out on a council seat in this year’s local elections.

Roscommon-Galway is a three seat constituency, with the two other sitting TDs being Sinn Féin's Claire Kerrane and Michael Fitzmaurice of Independent Ireland.