AUSTIN STACK HAS been added to Fianna Fáil’s election ticket in the Laois constituency ahead of the upcoming general election.

He will be running alongside Minister of State Seán Fleming in Laois.

Stack previously served as Assistant Governor in the Irish Prison Service and recently launched a new Health and Safety consultancy business in Portlaoise.

In 1983, his father Brian Stack, a Portlaoise Chief Prison Officer, was shot in the neck by the IRA as he left an amateur boxing contest in the National Stadium in Dublin.

He died in hospital 18 months later in 1984.

Austin Stack was 14 at the time of the attack and he has campaigned for justice for his father’s murder.

Stack said he is “honoured to have been added to the ticket in Laois for the General Election”.

“Over the past decades, I have shown that I am not afraid of being a strong voice for people here in Laois and standing up for them,” said Stack.

“I will always fight for justice and for fairness. If elected to Dáil Éireann I will continue this and be a relentlessly strong voice for our community at a national level.”

Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin described Stack as a “very passionate advocate” and added that this is “shown both by his campaigning for justice for his father, who was tragically murdered by the IRA, and locally, helping people in Portlaoise”.

Martin said he is “delighted” that Stack has been added to the Fianna Fáil ticket in Laois and added: “He has a proven track record of working with residents’ associations locally and is deeply rooted in his community.

“We have a well-balanced ticket in Laois with Austin and Seán and I believe we are in strong contention for two seats.”