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Fine Gael targets four Inishowen
seats
13.03.09
McGuinness, Ryan,
Roulston and Doherty selected at party convention
AN up-beat Inishowen Fine Gael convention attended
by more than 250 party delegates last weekend has
selected four candidates for the forthcoming Donegal
County Council elections.
Fine Gael hopes that Cllr Bernard McGuinness (Culdaff)
and first time candidates Keith Roulston (Newtowncunningham),
John Ryan (Fahan-Burnfoot), and Michael ‘Black
Mickey’ Doherty (Quigley’s Point) will win three
County Council seats for the party in the seven-seat
Inishowen electoral area. |
Cllr McGuinness is a
long-standing member of the local authority. Keith
Roulston is a former chairperson of Donegal IFA.
Black Mickey Doherty, who is chairperson of
Quigley’s Point-Muff-Redcastle Fine Gael, is a
prominent construction company owner and community
activist. John Ryan is well known as a milk
distributor in Buncrana and South Inishowen.
Cllr McGuinness, described on Sunday night by Deputy
Joe McHugh as “the hardest working county councillor
in Ireland”, was in buoyant mood when addressing the
convention.
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Cllr McGuinness
predicted that Fine Gael would take three seats in
Inishowen at the expense of Fianna Fáil.
“Even the most ardent supporters and public
representatives of Fianna Fáil in this area are
hanging their heads in shame at how their party and
Government have completely abandoned Inishowen. The
people are turning to Fine Gael, who will provide
honest and hard-working leadership,” said Cllr.
McGuinness.
John Ryan’s success at the convention was the story
of the night, and afterwards the Fahan native
expressed his determination to repay the members for
their nomination by working very hard to secure an
Inishowen seat for the party.
“The people of Inishowen and Ireland are turning to
Fine Gael for more honest and better government.
Inishowen needs three county councillors to provide
the people of the peninsula with a stronger and more
direct link to the Fine Gael leadership. I can
deliver one of those three seats for Fine Gael,”
said the Burnfoot-based businessman.
Acknowledging that he was speaking against the
backdrop of a recession, Keith Roulston identified
agriculture, marine, tourism, and general business
as the four important areas for Inishowen in the
coming years. Mr. Roulston identified ways by which
Donegal County Council can help each of these local
sectors, and promised that he would focus his
energies on these four sectors if elected as a
County Councillor.
Black Mickey Doherty spoke of his admiration for
Deputy Joe McHugh, and outlined his ambition to “be
a man on the ground to feed Joe with the energy that
he needs”. The Quigley’s Point man identified
emigration as a blight on Inishowen, and spoke of
the need for Donegal County Council to ensure that
there is work available locally.
Buncrana Town Councillors Paul Bradley and Peter
McLaughlin both unsuccessfully sought nominations
from the convention, but both polled very
respectable votes on the night. |
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