Fine Gael in Donegal has scored a major coup after having two people nominated to Seanad Eireann.
Nikki Bradley has returned to the Seanad after being nominated by the then Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, last July after the resignation of Regina Doherty.
But perhaps an even bigger surprise is the elevation of Killybegs county councillor Manus Boyle to the upper house of the Oireachtas.
Councillor Boyle’s name was never linked to a Seanad position.
Rumours of his nomination only began to emerge earlier today.
Many members of the Fine Gael party are said to be surprised by the nomination with both Letterkenny councillor Jimmy Kavanagh and former general election candidate John McNulty rumoured to be possibly in line.
The two Donegal Senators are part of 11 people selected by the Taoiseach and Tanaiste today.
It follows the election of the other 49 members last week of the Seanad last week.
Under the Constitution, the Taoiseach can select 11 people to sit in the 60 member Upper House of the Oireachtas.
However, under a Coalition deal, the seats will be shared out.
Six went to Fianna Fáil and five to Fine Gael on the basis that the former secured more seats in the General Election than the latter.
The full list of senators are: Dee Ryan, Alison Comyn, Anne Rabbitte, Lorrainne Clifford Lee, Imelda Goldsboro, Joe Flaherty, Nikki Bradley, Manus Boyle, Noel O’Donovan, Gareth Scahill and former RTE sports presenter Evanne Ní Chuilinn.
Senator Bradley hit the headlines last year when she was forced to ask for forgiveness for her comments over negative attitudes in Donegal.
During the election count, she remarked on “moaning and groaning” among the electorate over certain issues.
Bradley says her media interviews were wrongly tied in with the bigger issues such as defective blocks and other issues.
“I want to apologise, to the people of Donegal in general and the people that voted for me,” Senator Bradley told Donegal Daily.
“If there’s anybody that voted for me and now feels disappointed by what they saw over the weekend, I want to clarify that how it came across was absolutely not how I intended it.
“Having spent 11+ years working with my Fighting Fit for Ewings campaign and working with national disability charities, I have been working incredibly hard to try and improve situations for people.
“I let myself down with how I worded everything.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I didn’t realise how it came across until I saw it back.”
In an interview with Donegal Daily, Bradley acknowledged that she was being ‘controversial’ when she said: “There is a little bit of moaning and groaning going on about certain issues. I think if people could just stop and take a second and concentrate on what I do have rather than always what I don’t have.”
Bradley echoed the same comments on radio and social media, sparking an onslaught of anger.
“I was actually trying to be quite positive and remind people that we live in an amazing place,” she said today.
“What I meant by that was we are proud to be from Donegal and we have so much going for us.
“I understand the way I worded it, it made it look like I was almost talking about the bigger issues of the county”.
Senator Bradley said the incident is been a learning opportunity for her as she moves forward to seek re-election to the Seanad.
“Politics is a very different world. That fact I am new to all of this, even if your intentions are pure, the way you word things can be picked up wrong. That is exactly what happened,” she said.
“I ask for people to, if they can find it in their hearts, to forgive me for speaking out of turn.”
