Sheehan pulls out of North-Central Dáil race

COUNCILLOR John Sheehan has pulled out of the race to become Fianna Fáil’s second candidate in Cork North Central.

The Blackpool-based GP wrote to party members yesterday, to say he was withdrawing to focus on his work and his re-election campaign for City Council. The move leaves councillors Tony Fitzgerald and Kenneth O’Flynn battling it out to join poll-topper, Billy Kelleher, on the ticket.

In his letter, Dr Sheehan said he still believed the party should be seeking a second seat in the constituency. However, he said that he wanted to keep his focus on City Hall and keep his seat under the new boundary changes.

“Having considered it for the past 12 months, and trying to balance the demands of work in general practice, I have decided to withdraw my name for consideration as a general election candidate.

“It is my intention to run as a candidate for Fianna Fáil in the 2019 local elections. I feel that, with the expansion of the Cork City boundary and the new local election areas, it is a challenging and exciting time to be involved in local politics,” he said.