Seventeen candidates in Longford / Westmeath set to battle it out for five Dáil seats

A total of seventeen candidates have declared in the Longford-Westmeath constituency for the General Election with the pressure on to hit the ground running during what will be a short campaign.

It is expected that the electorate will cast their votes on Friday, November 29 with five Dáil seats up for grabs.

The primary election issues are set to be housing, rural crime, health and immigration with the threat of industrial action being taken by over 130 staff at St Christopher's Services another key topic on the doorsteps.

Minister Peter Burke, Senator Micheál Carrigy and Athlone-based Tanya Cannon have been selected by Fine Gael to represent the party in the Longford-Westmeath constituency in the forthcoming General Election.

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Local Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty has been confirmed as the party’s pick in county Longford, while Deputy Robert Troy will join him as he contests his fourth consecutive general election. FF have also added a third candidate in the guise of Dympna Cunniffe from Mount Temple.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD for Longford-Westmeath, Sorca Clarke will be joined by Longford's Barry Campion on the ticket.

Mullingar-native Fidelma Bennett, who was narrowly denied a seat on Westmeath County Council earlier this year, has been nominated as the Labour candidate.

Cllr Paul Hogan is set to contest the Longford-Westmeath constituency for Independent Ireland in the upcoming General Election.

Hogan previously contested three General Elections (2007, 2011 and 2016) and a By Election (2014) as a Sinn Féin candidate but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Carol Okeke, who lives in Kinnegad is aiming to become Longford-Westmeath’s very first Green Party TD.

Longford town based Dave Smyth is understood to be running for People Before Profit.

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Elsewhere, Laura O'Neill is the Aontú candidate in the Kinnegad area and she has said she is passionate about youth development, animal welfare, mental health advocacy.

There are four non party candidates in the field with former minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran the most high profile.

The former Longford-Westmeath TD secured a seat on Westmeath County Council in June when he received one of the highest percentage of first-preference votes nationally.

Mr Moran served as as Minister of State for the OPW and Flood Relief from 2017 until 2020.

Meanwhile, Athlone's first-ever Green Cllr, Louise Heavin – who lost her council seat in June's local elections -is also standing as an Independent, while long serving Longford county councillor, Gerry Warnock, was one of the earliest to confirm he would run as an independent candidate last April.

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Elsewhere, Donal Jackson, who has run in a number of elections, has a slogan, 'Don’t believe the false promises of left wing parties' as he campaigns for change and a Dáil seat.

The General election candidates declared to date are Minister Peter Burke, Senator Micheál Carrigy and Tanya Cannon (all Fine Gael), Deputy Joe Flaherty, Deputy Robert Troy, Dympna Cunniffe (all Fianna Fáil), Deputy Sorca Clarke and Barry Campion (both Sinn Féin), Carol Okeke (Green Party), Paul Hogan (Independent Ireland), Laura O'Neill (Aontú), Fidelma Bennett (Labour), Dave Smyth (People Before Profit), Kevin 'Boxer' Moran (Ind), Louise Heavin (Ind), Gerry Warnock (Ind) and Donal Jackson (Ind)