Kathleen Lynch to contest next election despite ‘bruising’ defeat
Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Co Wexford at the weekend, Ms Lynch said last year’s election defeat was bruising and that to “deny that would be to try to fool yourself”.
However, she said she believes she still has a “valuable contribution” to make and that her decision to seek a Dáil return is “pretty clear-cut”.
“I suppose after coming out of an election that was fairly bruising, to deny that would be to try to fool yourself, so of course you had to sit back and reassess.
“I will be running in the next election and we are gearing up for one,” she said.
While claims have been made about Ms Lynch’s health in the past after she was rushed to hospital in 2013 and suffered from septicaemia after being bitten by a fly, she said there is no issue and she has “completely recovered”.
The 64-year-old was a TD between 1994 and 1997, and from 2002 until 2016 in the four-seat Cork North Central constituency, whose TDs currently include Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher and first-time TDs Jonathan O’Brien of Sinn Féin, Mick Barry of Solidarity-PBP and Dara Murphy of Fine Gael.
Labour TD Alan Kelly has hit out at the way in which party leader Brendan Howlin came to power last year and has said he would run if a vacancy emerges again.
Mr Kelly said “we all know what happened” and confirmed he will seek to become leader in the future if a vacancy arises.
“We all know what happened was wrong, it shouldn’t have happened. There’ll be another day. I’ve said that on numerous occasions.
"If the people of Tipperary support me, and there’s a vacancy, of course I’ll run,” he told a Sunday newspaper.
