Labour TD Joe Sherlock has become the latest member of the Labour Parliamentary Party to announce that he will not run again for election.
His place on the ticket in the Cork East constituency should almost certainly be taken by his son, Cllr Seán Sherlock, though the party will also run a candidate from the southern end of the constituency.
The decision of the 71-year-old TD is not a surprise, following the earlier announcement by his Dublin North colleague, Seán Ryan.
Elected first to Mallow Urban District Council, Mr Sherlock was elected to the Dáil five times (1981, 1982, 1987, 1989, and 2002) and served two terms as a senator.
The departure of Mr Sherlock will have implications for the next general election, given that he always had a strong personal following.
In 1997, Fine Gael's Midleton-based Mr David Stanton was elected alongside his party running mate, Mallow-based Mr Paul Bradford.Critically, however, Mr Stanton was ahead of the Labour challengers, Mr Sherlock and John Mulvihill, on the first count.
When Mr Mulvihill was eliminated the gap between Mr Stanton and Mr Sherlock was 488 votes.
Subsequently, Mr Mulvihill's transfers broke party loyalties by transferring in larger numbers to Mr Stanton, rather than to Mr Sherlock.
In the next election, Fine Gael and Labour will be hoping that a strong transfer pact could put them in with a chance of winning three of the four seats in the constituency, though the size of the constituency has traditionally tended to ensure that voters vote geographically, rather than on strict party ties. In addition, the "three out of four" ambition will be a hard challenge given the continuing presence of Ned O'Keeffe, who has publicly declared his intention to run despite local rumours to the contrary, and Minister of State for Enterprise Michael Ahern for Fianna Fáil.
Speaking in Mallow, Mr Sherlock said that it was "an appropriate time" to inform his local organisation of his future plans, given that the Dáil is more than half way through its term of office.
"I have served in the Dáil and Seanad for various periods since 1981. I believe now is the time to give someone else the opportunity to continue the work I have done for the people of north and east Cork into the future.
"At the last general election, the Labour Party pulled off a great result in Cork East, through excellent vote management between myself and my running mate, John Mulvihill."
Expressing confidence that Labour could hold the seat, he said the party had eight public representatives in the constituency, between the Dáil and county and town councils.
