Former RTÉ Midlands correspondent Ciaran Mullooly will run for Independent Ireland as one of its candidates in this summer’s European elections, the party officially confirmed this evening.
Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice confirmed Mr Mullooly would be standing as the party’s candidate in the Midlands Northwest constituency.
Mr Fitzmaurice and Mr Mullooly made the official announcement during their visit to Lough Funshinagh in Co Roscommon, a flood-prone lake which is threatening local people’s homes.
Speaking about the new candidate, Mr Fitzmaurice said: “Ciaran is a straight shooter and has a good knowledge of rural Ireland.
“What we want is people with common sense. Where we are today, there is an elderly person living in hell, her house is in danger, her life is in danger, along with all the other people around here.
“Common sense must prevail. The political system has failed this community; this issue has gone legal and you cannot touch it. If that’s what Europe is about, then we need to change it and we need people to go to Europe to change it,” he said.
Mr Mullooly said that when Independent Ireland approached him, he wanted to know what it envisaged in terms of the European Parliament work that could be taken on, and the Lough Funshinagh issue “came into our conversation straight away”.
In 2021, work on installing a 2.9km flood relief pipeline at Lough Funshinagh was halted on foot of a successful High Court challenge brought by Friends of the Irish Environment group.
“This is a classic example of an area that has been devastated by flooding and not the fault of the local people. Yet we have a situation whereby European guidelines, regulations and rules are coming first and local people are coming last,” said Mr Mullooly.
“One of the reasons I joined this party is because Michael Fitzmaurice has shown in the past his ability to work on projects based on common sense, cutting through the red tape, and getting work done for people,” he said.
The Lanesboro native said he would not be putting his name forward if he didn’t think he could win a seat. “Almost every piece of legislation in our parliament in Dublin comes from Europe. So it is our job to get in there, scrutinise it, change it if we can, work with people, groups and farmers to make sure they come first.
“I have worked in tourism and community development for over thirty years. I have worked in many areas that I am going to focus on during the campaign such as suicide prevention and disability.”
He said he had no ambitions to run for the Dáil at any stage and made that clear to Independent Ireland.
A well-known community activist, Mr Mullooly retired from RTÉ in 2021 after 27 years of service.
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