Son of the late veteran Inishowen councillor Bernard McGuinness to fill vacant seat

Johnny McGuinness, the son of the late Fine Gael councillor Bernard McGuinness, is expected to fill his late father's seat as a councillor for the Carndonagh Electoral Area.

Bernard McGuinness sadly passed away last August at the age of 77. He had been an elected representative for 42 years and had been the sitting Mayor of Inishowen at the time of his death.

His son Johnny is now widely believe to fill the vacant seat. It is also believed that the Culdaff man has already been nominated by the Culdaff and Malin Fine Gael branches.

Fine Gael Donegal is to hold a virtual convention on Thursday. It is not yet known if any other candidates have been put forward for the seat.

Speaking on Highland Radio, Mr McGuinness said he was looking forward to the challenge of his new role.

"If selected, I would like to work with the seated councillors there and pushed forward and bring about some improvements and services provided for the most vulnerable in society," Mr McGuinness said.

He added that he hopes to achieve at least half of what his father had before him.

"If I can help half as many people than he did then I'll feel like I'll have made a valuable contribution," he said.