Fine Gael selects community activist to replace late John Naughten on county council

Fine Gael has formally selected community activist Valerie Duffy to replace the late Cllr John Naughten on Roscommon County Council.

At a co-option party selection convention held in the Athlone Springs Hotel in Monksland this evening, Ms Duffy from Moore defeated the other candidate in the contest, Taughmaconnell’s Ger Grehan.

Ms Duffy, who is very active in community and youth work and a leading figure on Moore Community Council, will be ratified as the new Fine Gael councillor at next Monday’s plenary meeting of Roscommon County Council.

Approximately fifty party members voted at tonight's convention to decide who would fill the vacant seat in the Athlone Municipal District following the sudden death of Cllr Naughten last October.

At the outset of tonight's proceedings, Ireland North-west MEP Maria Walsh, who chaired the convention, said it was a bittersweet night and not one that "anyone thought we would face". Ms Walsh sincerely thanked the members of the Naughten family for their presence at the convention.

Ms Duffy's nomination was proposed by former TD and Minister, Denis Naughten, who told the convention that his late brother John had a longstanding desire to reunite Fine Gael. 

He said this led to Domnick Connolly rejoining Fine Gael and subsequently being re-elected last summer as a councillor. "This objective (to reunite the party) also influenced my decision to rejoin the party last year," he said.

"Additionally, this was John's motivation to contest the general election, seeing it as an opportunity to reunite the party and secure a seat for Fine Gael for the first time in 13 years. 

"To that end, John meticulously prepared every detail of his campaign from poster placements to canvassing strategies, even identifying who he wanted to replace him on Roscommon County Council if he was elected to Dáil Éireann. John made these decisions with the community and Fine Gael's best interests at heart as he had always demonstrated," said Mr Naughten.

"For that reason alone, I stand before you tonight representing the Naughten family - Breda, John's wife, his daughters Emma, Leah and Orlaith, my mother Mary and my brothers and sisters - to propose the name of Valerie Duffy," he said.

Mr Naughten said Ms Duffy was a founding member of Fine Gael in County Roscommon in the 1990s and served on both the national executive of both Young Fine Gael and Fine Gael.

Outlining her track record, Mr Naughten said his brother thought Ms Duffy would make an excellent councillor due to her extensive volunteer work in local community groups such as Moore Community Council, Moore Community Playground and Camcloon National School Board of Management.

He said she worked with John on many local issues helping to secure significant funding for projects such as refurbishment of Moore Hall and the redevelopment of the local playground.

He also pointed out that, for her volunteer work, Ms Duffy was named 'Roscommon's most inspirational person' at the National Inspirational Awards in 2022.  He said that Ms Duffy had a similar attribute to his brother, in that it was near impossible to say no to her and she gets things done quietly and effectively.

The convention heard that beyond her strong political and community background, Ms Duffy has national and international experience and has even addressed the United Nations.

While based at home in More, Mr Naughten said she currently works as the global youth programme manager at the National Youth Council of Ireland.

“Valerie’s expertise in policy development, advocacy and stakeholder engagement will be invaluable to Roscommon County Council and to the people of this county.

"This is why my late brother John believed Valerie Duffy was the best candidate to fulfil his mandate. Heartbreakingly John is not here tonight to make the case himself," he said.

He asked the delegates before they cast their votes to honour John’s wishes to support Valerie Duffy "ensuring his legacy of loyalty and commitment to the local community here in South Roscommon is continued".

Ms Duffy was seconded by Cllr Domnick Connolly while the other candidate Ger Grehan, an active figure in farming circles, was proposed by Gerard Mulleady and seconded by Sean Dooley.