As nominations for the local elections closed in Lifford on Saturday there was much shock when the name of the county’s newest Cllr. Eugene Gallagher was not on the list of candidates in the Letterkenny area.
He replaced Dessie Shiels in the town when he was co-opted to the Council on March 25th. Cllr. Gallagher will attend the Letterkenny Municipal District meeting next Wednesday as he bows out of the political limelight.
He told the Tirconaill Tribune that health issues had forced him to reconsider his future in politics and it is with much regret that he’s been forced to leave politics.
25th March 2019: Cllr Eugene Gallagher (L) on the day of his co-option to Donegal County Council, pictured with with Letterkenny Mayor Ian McGarvey (R)
And along with the retirement of Cllrs James Pat McDaid, Terence Slowey and Barry O’Neill, the four vacant seats has added renewed speculation on that impact on the final results in Letterkenny, Donegal Town and Glenties.
And as nominations closed in Lifford on Saturday the name of Jim Ferry was not on the list. Despite legal representation his last minute attempt to get on the ticket as an Independent candidate for the Glenties area failed.
Asked if Jim Ferry was the only one ever to have a local election nomination rejected a Council official noted: “There have been many elections in Donegal over the years and this information is not readily available. For this reason, we are unable to confirm one way or another.”
With 85 declared candidates for the Council’s 37 seats in the local elections the only certainty is that only 43.5% of the runners will end up taking a seat.
The field of candidates include 18 from FF: FG 15, up 1 from 2014: SF 13, an extra 2: Non Party 29: Aontú 6: Labour 2: SPBP 1: Renua 1.
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