FINE GAEL SENATOR Seán Kyne has been selected to contest the upcoming by-election in Galway West.

A selection convention was held in the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill this afternoon, where Fine Gael members in the constituency voted to put Kyne forward.

He was initially facing off Councillor Eddie Hoare, who withdrew his name before the vote, and former President of Young Fine Gael Eoghan Gallagher, for a spot on the ticket. 

The by-election is to fill the seat of President Catherine Connolly, which she vacated upon her election to the Áras.

Fifty-year-old Kyne, who is from Maigh Cuilinn, is a member of the Seanad’s Cultural and Educational Panel. He was a TD for Galway West from 2011 to 2020, serving as a Minister of State from 2016, and Government Chief Whip from 2018, until he lost his seat in the 2020 general election. 

He was appointed to the Seanad in 2020 and retained his seat in the last election.

Fine Gael said Kyne “has pushed for real investment in hospitals, transport, housing, community facilities and supporting the Irish language across Galway West and Connemara”.

Kyne said he is “delighted” to have been selected and looks forward to a “positive campaign” during which he intends to meet voters across the constituency. 

His party leader, Tánaiste Simon Harris, congratulated Kyne on his selection and commended him for his work in public service. 

“I look forward to having the chance to meet the people of Galway West over the coming weeks as we set out our positive message and agenda,” Harris said.

Fine Gael’s director of election for the by-election is Minister Peter Burke.

Burke said the focus will be on “meeting people, hearing what matters to them and highlighting what Seán will bring to Dáil Éireann; practical and positive ideas for the future of the constituency” over the course of the campaign. 

Kyne will be fighting for the seat against Labour’s Councillor Helen Ogbu, the Social Democrats’ Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich, Independent Ireland’s Noel Thomas, Aontu’s Orla Nugent, and the Green Party’s Niall Murphy.

Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are yet to select their candidates. 

Both the Galway West and Dublin Central by-elections, the latter to fill Paschal Donohoe’s seat, will likely be held in May, the Taoiseach said.