FINE GAEL HAS tonight chosen councillor Ray McAdam to contest the upcoming Dublin Central by-election, where the party will be attempting to retain the seat vacated by former Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe late last year. 

McAdam, who is currently Lord Mayor of Dublin, was picked by the party tonight at a selection convention held in the Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8.

A long-time councillor for the party in the North Inner City, McAdam was seen as the favourite to contest the upcoming election for his party.

He has been a Fine Gael councillor since 2009 and topped the poll in the constituency in the most recent local election in 2024.

Speaking this evening, McAdam said he was honoured to be chosen and added:

“For 17 years, I have had the privilege of serving communities across this constituency as a local councillor, and as Lord Mayor, I have sought to stand up for a Dublin that is ambitious, inclusive, safe and open to all.

“Now I want to bring that same record of delivery, that same energy, and that same belief in the potential of our capital city to Dáil Éireann.”

He added that his campaign is about the future of Dublin Central.

“It is about stronger communities, a more vibrant city, and practical leadership that gets things done. I look forward to meeting voters across the constituency, hearing what matters most to them, and asking for their support to build an even better Dublin together,” McAdam said.

The Dublin Central by-election will take place in late May of this year and comes after longstanding Fine Gael TD in the area Paschal Donohoe’s shock resignation in November. 

Donohoe left public office to take up a role with the World Bank in the US.

The Dublin Central by-election will take place on the same day as the Galway West one, where President Catherine Connolly’s seat will be filled. 

Other candidates in Dublin Central who have formally declared are:

Labour’s Ruth O’Dea, Independent candidate Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch, Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan, Social Democrats’ Daniel Ennis, Green candidate Janet Horner, Independent councillor Malachy Steenson, People Before Profit’s Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, and Aontú’s Ian Noel Smyth.

Fianna Fáil is set to select its candidate next Monday. The sole nominee for the party is councillor John Stephens.