Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
AN UNOFFICIAL SELECTION convention being held by Fianna Fáil members in Longford tonight has been described as a ‘sham’.
Over 260 party members have been invited to a meeting in the Longford Arms Hotel where they will be given an ”opportunity to vote for their preferred candidate to contest the forthcoming general election”.
However, Fianna Fáil said it would not recognise the convention or its outcome.
Connie Gerety Quinn was nominated as the Fianna Fáil candidate for Longford-Westmeath, alongside sitting TD Robert Troy, in controversial circumstances at a selection convention in October.
At the convention, which was described as ‘chaotic’, members were told that only a female candidate could be nominated. Gerety Quinn’s selection by default came at the expense of party activist Pat O’Rourke and local councillor Seamus Butler.
Members have since been attempting to convince Fianna Fáil’s national constituencies committee to re-run the convention and hold an open selection process without any directive.
However O’Rourke now says that tonight’s convention is an opportunity to force headquarters’ hand. He told TheJournal.ie:
This isn’t about Pat O’Rourke, Seamus Butler or Connie Gerety, this is about the people of Longford and ensuring that the most experienced candidates are put forward to represent them so that Longford gets exceptional representation after the next general election.
Advertisement
However, Butler described tonight’s event as a “sham” and an “unnecessary complication”.
At a meeting on 19 November members agreed to express no confidence in Gerety Quinn and implore headquarters to re-run the convention. There are also plans to picket a meeting of Fianna Fáil’s national executive next week.
A copy of the letter sent to Fianna Fáil members in Longford notifying them of tonight's meeting.
Butler said this agreed approach was being undermined by what’s planned tonight, telling this website:
It’s an unnecessary complication. We agreed a plan of action and this is thrown in there. It’s political naivety there on behalf those who aren’t elected and are looking to stand [Pat O’Rourke]. He’s never stood for elected office.
“Who’s going to invigilate this? Who is running this? This has no standing within the party. It wasn’t discussed at the meeting on 19 November. I don’t trust the process.”
While he said he would attend, Butler said he would be making these views known to members, adding:
This is a sham. If I was selected or not it has no standing whatsoever and I certainly won’t be getting involved in efforts like this. It’s wrong.
O’Rourke insisted that the meeting tonight is in compliance with directions from headquarters and constitutes an election planning meeting.
He insisted: “The agenda is basically dealing with general election strategy where we are putting forward the views of members. It’s in actual compliance. Our meeting [tonight] is about campaign planning.”
However, a Fianna Fáil spokesperson said that Troy and Gerety Quinn are the candidates and that any meeting to consider alternative candidates would break party rules:
The National Constituencies Committee has not been formally notified of any meeting in the constituency to discuss alternative candidates and any such meeting would be outside of the party’s longstanding rules and procedures governing such matters. Such a meeting would therefore not be recognised by the party.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
True or False: During his tenure as Taoiseach, the country has gone from being run by the IMF to having over 6% economic growth per year, unemployment has dropped from 15% to 9%, and true or false, Enda Kenny was never a member of a terrorist organisation responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent people including gardai.
Under his leadership we have to ask the question “Am I better or worse off than I was five years ago ?” Time to be honest with yourself and your family before truthfully voting in the next election ! P.S. I am not a party man just a family guy !
Nira – Eritrea: 8.5% economic growth, one of the fastest growing in the world…. yet thousands risk death crossing the desert to get out. Measure the right things…
Don’t cod yourself David, nothing to do with Kenny & his mob, low interest rates & a strong US economy only reason we haven’t sank, the wind changes & we’re back into the same old shite as before.
Watcher comparing Ireland to Eritrea is pretty pathetic. There’s genuine poverty in Eritrea. People dying of hunger. Poverty in ireland equates to not having enough money left over from the dole to buy that extra pack of cigarettes or crate of booze this week.some difference
He’s a member of FG who collaborated with the British Forces who perpetrated the deliberate mass murder of innocent Irish civilians in Ballymurphy, Derry, Springhill, New Lodge, Newry, Dundalk, Dublin/Monaghan, etc.
Just got a taxi from Dub Airport this afternoon and surely was a first in many years to hear the driver say that he doesn’t get time to eat his lunch these days .
All you doomsday merchants should cop on and do something constructive with your lives rather than devote all your energies to a futile negative campaign against the Taoiseach which is going to back fire on you lads in due course .
Poor Sean ,still living in the past ,it wasn’t the government here that robbed families of loved ones and buried them in isolated places all over the north east and further afield .
I honestly don’t get the opprobrium towards Enda Kenny. He seems like a nice man to me, build FG from total despair following 2002 election, has overseen the removal of the IMF and huge growth in the country all the while keeping the country peaceful.
When I look back at some of our leaders – Cowen, Ahern, Bruton, Haughey (to name a few) I cannot understand the vitriol towards Kenny. I think history will treat him very well.
Paige. Are you living in Iteland? If so do you not hear the stress. Homelessness hospital trolleys schools drugs i could go on and on especially about the integrity and honesty of the man.
His latest lie is a slur on the people of Ireland. He stated publicly that the Governor of the Central Bank had told him the army would be needed to protect the banks. This is clearly untrue and the Governor has not confirmed it. Kenny has admitted as much and tried to deflect by talking of general briefing. Casting the Irish people as a rabble that would have attacked the banks is despicable given what we had to endure to restore the economy. We deserve better. He is not fit to be Taoiseach. All this for his own political benefit.
Youn know the most worrying thing about this ‘quiz’? Questions you’d expect to be false turn out to be true..FG are fkd with this witless clown leading them..really fkd!
To be honest Hugh even the ones that get the green correction marks may not be true….he may tell them but that doesn’t make them true….you know like the one about the Army and ATM’s are a case in point, etc
Spin it all you like……….the man’s an idiot.
This guy is a first class clown, how the fk does a moron become leader of a country, yeah I know the electorate, well will you cop on next time…. Please.
Worst Taoiseach ever,can’t remember a more self serving one,his blatant lies are testament to the contempt he has for the position as Taoiseach,and for the people of this country.Goes to show how weak the Fine gaeler’s are,leaving him as leader.
On today’s news; In Sport, Ireland have been crowned Rugby World Champions after two converted tries from hooker Enda Kenny in the dying minutes.
Soccer, after intense negotiations by FIAFG officials, Ireland have been deemed qualified for the European Championship as number one seeds, in no small thanks to Enda Kenny.
Meanwhile, Mayo have been crowned All Ireland Hurling Champions for the fifth consecutive year, after two penalty saves from keeper Kenny, who then ran the length of the park to score not one, but three injury time goals.
Later, while relaxing at the Irish Open, Mr Kenny managed only three holes in one to card an unbeatable round of 36 under par.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was heard to say “I don’t believe it”
“I was abducted by aliens today” claims Enda Kenny. “I tell you this the aliens were like ordinary people, they told me I was an excellent world leader. They were so impressed with me, they cloned me”….
He’s a tough guy to be fair. Growing up on the means streets of Castlebar, entering the Dail aged 27 after serving his time (4 years) in the trenches with hardened 6 and 7 year old primary school kids. he’s a mans man. Tough as nails.
'Never order off this site': Massive web of fake shops targeting Irish Facebook users uncovered
Stephen McDermott
1 hr ago
1.2k
frankly
Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘instinct’ is to back a united Ireland as she praises 'kind' Martin McGuinness
2 hrs ago
3.7k
39
Dublin
Luas red line suspended from Connolly to the Point after major fire brought under control
Updated
19 hrs ago
121k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 222 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage . Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework. The choices you make regarding the purposes and vendors listed in this notice are saved and stored locally on your device for a maximum duration of 1 year.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Social Media Cookies
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 155 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 202 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 162 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 125 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 126 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 54 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 51 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 181 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 80 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 114 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 120 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 53 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 67 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 38 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 126 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 129 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 98 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 70 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 122 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 109 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say