Social Democrats councillor Gary Gannon and candidate for Dublin Mid-West Ann-Marie McNally are both seeking a nomination from their party to run in Dublin in May’s European elections.

McNally, who is also the party’s political director, told TheJournal.ie that while the party has not yet made a decision about running s candidate, she intends to seek a nomination. 

Speaking to The Irish Times today, Gannon said he would contest the selection convention if his party decided to run a Dublin candidate, and that he was “very excited” about challenging for a European Parliament seat.

The number of MEP seats in the Dublin constituency will increase from three to four at this year’s election. Independent Nessa Childers and Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes will not be seeking re-election. It is expected that Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan will run again.

“I believe the campaign is an exciting and important opportunity to have a conversation about what social democracy can mean for Ireland and the type of Europe that people want to be a part of,” McNally told TheJournal.ie.

She added:

As a founding member of The SocDems I would relish the opportunity to outline exactly what our vision is and the change we wish to make. This is a critical time to discuss the future of the European project and Ireland’s place in a vibrant and multi-cultural Europe.

While the party has not yet made a decision on whether to contest or not, our unparalleled record on standing strong female candidates makes it incumbent on me to put myself forward to our members for selection.

The Social Democrats currently have two TDs in the Dáil, Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall.