Former TD and minister Éamon Ó Cuív has declined to rule himself out as a possible candidate in the Galway West byelection triggered by Catherine Connolly’s election as president.
Contacted on Sunday, Mr Ó Cuív, who retired last year after 32 years as a TD, declined to say whether he would be interested but said a process would have to be established with Fianna Fáil.
“There must be a process to identify a candidate that would be suitable,” he said. “Whoever is selected would need to have the ability to reach into a wide and diverse constituency with a large urban conurbation as well as some of the most remote rural areas in Ireland.”
The byelection must be called in Galway West, which encompasses the city as well as Connemara and various coastal islands, within six months of the seat becoming vacant in the five-seat constituency. The other four seats are held by poll-topper Mairéad Farrell of Sinn Féin; Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael); John Connolly (Fianna Fáil) and Noel Grealish (Independent).
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The person who finished sixth in the general election was the Independent Ireland candidate, Connemara-based Noel Thomas. Fine Gael Senator Seán Kyne finished seventh.
Mr Thomas is a former member of Fianna Fáil but left the party along with another councillor after both were criticised by the party leadership over comments related to an arson attack on a former hotel near Oughterard that was earmarked for asylum seeker accommodation.
Independent Ireland has a significant presence on Galway County Council in particular, with six of the 39 seats. Mr Thomas topped the poll in Connemara South in the council elections last year. However, he lacks recognition in Galway city and the populous suburban areas to the east of the city.
Independent councillor Eibhlín Seoighthe could provide an ideological successor to Ms Connolly, whose presidential campaign she joint-chaired in the constituency.
Ms Seoighthe was in the Social Democrats until last year but left the party. Her departure came around the time Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes was readmitted to the party, but she did not explicitly link her decision with his readmission.
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Another person whose name has been mentioned by rival party activists is that of the president-elect’s son, Stephen Connolly, who has been a contributor to her political campaigns and work.
A possible early favourite would be Sinn Féin councillor Aisling Burke, who is her party’s sole representative on Galway City Council.
Some Fianna Fáil members do not believe Mr Ó Cuív will contest the convention, which is likely to take place in January. Among the councillors mentioned as possible participants are Peter Keane, Alan Cheevers, Cillian Keane and Gerry King, as well as Senator Ollie Crowe.
Among the prominent Fine Gael representatives are Mr Kyne, and city councillors Clodagh Higgins (who stood in Galway East in the general election) and Eddie Hoare.
For Labour, a possible candidate could be Cllr Helen Ogbu, while Alan Curran could be a possible standard-bearer for the Social Democrats.
The Independent mayor Mike Cubbard is positioned to do well in the city but might struggle to attract votes in rural parts of the constituency, which extends from Oranmore, to the east of the city, to Clifden.
