Harrington hopes to win back FG seat

FORMER Fine Gael deputy Noel Harrington has confirmed to The Southern Star this week that he will attempt to win back the seat he lost last year.

Speaking at a meeting of Fine Gael in Glengarriff, the former TD, who lost his seat last February, said he intends to seek the nomination to contest the next general election, ‘whenever that may be’. 

‘Of course, I can only be a candidate through local FG support and I will put my name before the branches, districts and constituency convention,’ he later told The Southern Star. ‘It will be in the hands of the members to decide whether or not I will be a candidate. It’s important to note there’s no election pending!’ 

In last year’s election, Harrington had hoped the Fine Gael vote management strategy of canvassing both his home base in Beara and the eastern end of the constituency in Kinsale would secure his seat.

But his final 6,433 first preference vote left him trailing Michael Collins from the very first count and without a seat in the 32nd Dáil.