Galway councillor to contest Seanad by-election - ‘I believe I can provide a strong voice for our communities’
Galway City councillor Frank Fahy seeks a Fine Gael nomination for the Seanad seat left vacant by now Galway West TD, Sean Kyne.
At a Fine Gael’s Galway West constituency meeting held at the Menlo Park Hotel on June 19, the fluent Irish speaker hailing from Menlo signed the party’s Seanad pledge to seek nomination for the Seanad Éireann by-election.
Cllr Fahy has served as a city councillor for over 15 years after being co-opted into the council in 2011. Since 2014 he has represented the City Central area and served as Galway City Mayor twice.
Cllr Fahy also sits as a chair of the Lough Corrib Navigation Trustees and is as an Irish speaking commentator for Raidió na Gaeltachta, TG4 and RTÉ News.
Fine Gael's Sean Kyne (left) and Tanaiste Simon Harris (centre right). © Bairbre Holmes/PA Wire
Given a successful nomination by Fine Gael, one of Cllr Fahy’s campaign focuses would be strengthening his party’s presence in Galway City, he said. His plans include permanent Fine Gael constituency offices.
Additionally, Cllr Fahy committed to holding constituency clinics in surrounding city areas like Oranmore, Castelgar, Connemara, and Turloughmore.
As a champion for the Irish language, he wishes to see a revitalisation of the Galetacht and the language as well as furthering regional development.
Cllr Fahy was one of the first leaders in the local authority to host a meeting fully in Irish with the attendance of former Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins.
“As a native Irish speaker representing the largest Gaeltacht region in the country, I believe I can provide a strong voice for our communities while helping Fine Gael further strengthen its commitment to the Irish language and Gaeltacht development,” Cllr Fahy said.
Fine Gael Seán Kyne’s Seanad seat remains open after his election to the Dáil in May.
The Seanad Éireann by-election process begins with a motion to recognise the call for an election. The Seanad clerk then notifies the Local Government Minister to call the election date.
The minister must call the date within 180 days of the clerk’s notification. At this time, there is no date established yet.
The Seanad is made up of 60 members who are not directly elected by the public but either nominated by the Taoiseach or elected from panels.
The final list of candidates is not yet revealed, however, joining Cllr Fahy in seeking the party nomination is Fine Gael Laois County Councillor Vivienne Phelan.