And then there were three! There will now be three Roscommon candidates for positions in Seanad Eireann – outgoing Fianna Fail Senator Terry Leyden, Fianna Fail Cllr. Eugene Murphy and FG Cllr. Domnick Connolly. Senator Leyden was in Carlow when I spoke to him yesterday (Wednesday). ‘The campaign is going well but the Senate election is very complex’ he said. ‘The Dail elections are far more straight-forward. We have to canvass every TD, Senator and councillor both city and county in the country so there is a lot of travelling involved’ he told me. I put it to Senator Leyden that as an experienced politician he should have no problem in getting elected again – however he rejected that notion. ‘Remember that Fianna Fail have at least 80 less councillors since the last local election so things are much tighter than they have been in the past – however I’m working hard and am hopeful’ he concluded. Cllr. Eugene Murphy was also in the Carlow area when I spoke to him. He is running for election on the Agriculture panel. ‘I am getting a very good reaction but it’s hard to know really how one is doing but you have to put in the hard work and there is a lot of travelling involved. Hopefully the hard work will pay off. I’ve been very heartened by the support that I have received from the Fianna Fail organisation locally’ he said. I asked Eugene what he would need to stay in with a chance of getting elected. ‘I will need to get in the region of 35 first preference votes to stay in the race. However the Agriculture panel is a very competitive one so it’s going to be tight all round’ he concluded. Fine Gael Cllr. Domnick Connolly also says that he is getting a good response. ‘I’m very pleased with the reaction so far but there is a lot of work to be done to get around on everyone but I am making progress but I won’t know anything until the ballot box is opened’ he told me. The ballot papers will be sent out on July 9th and the votes will be counted in Dublin on July 23rd.
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