Former Mitchelstown councillor to run for Dáil as Independent

A former county councillor, based in the Mitchelstown area, who enlivened the local-election campaign with viral Tik Tok videos, before losing his seat, is to step in to the political fray once more to contest for a Dáil seat in Cork East.

Frank Roche, who was elected as an Independent councillor in 2019, told The Echo that he would be putting himself forward in the general lection.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Roche said that he had been approached by a number of parties to contest the election under their banner, but had decided to stand as a “a completely independent candidate”.

He was disappointed not to have been returned as a councillor in the June elections. “What I’ve discovered, in politics, people don’t seem to think on the day of the election at all, but they seem to think that I’m still a councillor and they’re ringing me,” Mr Roche said.

“I’m giving them their chance now: If they want to put me back in, they can, and, if they don’t, I can forget about politics.”

In a video to announce his decision to stand, he said he wanted to represent the “young people that come to me because they can’t get a driving test, the young couples that are trying to get on the property ladder, the mothers that are having problems getting school places and school transport for their children, and for the young married couples that are finding it hard to make ends meet in their homes”.

“I’d also like to represent the haulage industry and the people on the road every day and the blackguarding they’re getting on the side of the road by our authorities.

“I’d also like to represent the farming community: We can see how they have to jump through loops, morning, noon and night. It’s just impossible.”

He told The Echo that he felt he had a chance, albeit slim, of being elected, as he had encountered a number of voters who had told him they wouldn’t be voting as they had previously.