O'Rourke unchallenged on three-strong Fianna Fáil ticket

One of the younger generation of county councillors in Westmeath will join Dáil deputies Mary O'Rourke and Peter Kelly on Fianna Fáil's Longford-Westmeath ticket for the forthcoming general election. North Westmeath-based Robert Troy (29), a member of Westmeath County Council since 2004, defeated his colleague Cllr. Aidan Davitt, as the party held its constituency convention at the Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar on Monday. Seven nominees were sent forward for the convention, which was chaired by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan: Troy, Kelly, O'Rourke, Castlepollard's Senator Donie Cassidy, Mullingar West councillor Ken Glynn, former Mullingar Chamber of Commerce president Paul O'Brennan, and Drumlish councillor Martin Mulleady. The convention, attended by hundreds of Fianna Fáil cumann delegates from across the constituency. was divided into three separate district conventions, centering on south Westmeath (Athlone/Kilbeggan), north Westmeath (Mullingar/Coole) and Longford. Incumbent deputies O'Rourke and Kelly were unanimously ratified by cumann members from south Westmeath and Longford respectively, with Cllr Mulleady withdrawing in favour of Deputy Kelly, and O'Rourke unchallenged. O'Brennan, Cassidy and Glynn then withdrew from the north Westmeath race, paving the way for a contest between Cllrs Troy and Davitt. Delegates from the Mullingar West and East areas, as well as members from a portion of the Coole Area, cast their ballots in a brief vote, after which Cllr Troy was declared the clear winner. A total of 96 ballots were cast: 61 went to Troy, 34 to Davitt, and one vote was spoiled. Cllr. Troy said that he was “delighted, honoured and willing†to accept the support of the members, and appealed to the young people of Longford-Westmeath, expressing his shared contempt for the “unbelievable greed†which has besmirched politics over the past ten years. He vowed to work for “a new republic†by taking his inspiration from former taoisigh like Éamon de Valera, Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch. Cllr Davitt, accepting defeat, extended his support for the Ballynacargy man, and said that the large crowd of delegates attending the convention was evidence that “Fianna Fáil is alive and well todayâ€. Welcoming the support of Longford members, Deputy Peter Kelly said that “being a politician is not just a sunny Sunday afternoon jobâ€, and he appealed to party canvassers to not “be afraid to knock on doors†in the forthcoming election. Finally, former minister and the most senior politician on the ticket, Deputy Mary O'Rourke said that while there is no “Pollyanna happy-ever-after tale†when it comes to solving the country's ills, she is determined to prove that politics was “an honest professionâ€. A long-awaited speech from her nephew, Minister Brian Lenihan, laid out the kernels of Fianna Fáil's programme for the spring election: education, jobs and the protection of the elderly. Describing the Longford-Westmeath ticket as “excellentâ€, the Minister said that public representatives with the youth and talent of Cllrs Troy and Davitt showed that “the future of Fianna Fáil is sound in Westmeathâ€. The FF trio selected on Monday will contest the election against Fine Gael's Senator Nicky McFadden, Deputy James Bannon and Cllr. Peter Burke; Labour's Deputy Willie Penrose and Mae Sexton, and at least one Sinn Féin candidate, likely to be Athlone's Cllr Paul Hogan.