Harris opens new office as Fine Gael starts push to add a seat in Cork NW

Fine Gael can take two Dáil seats in Cork North West at the next general election, Tánaiste Simon Harris has claimed, although he insisted that it is likely a long time off.

Mr Harris was in Macroom last week to open the new constituency office of Fine Gael senator Eileen Lynch, a vote of confidence in the former Macroom county councillor elected to the Seanad on the agricultural panel in February.

“Cork North West is a very important constituency for the Fine Gael party, it’s a constituency in which we did well in the last election,” the Tánaiste told The Echo in Murray’s, the bar belonging to Ms Lynch’s uncle.

In the November 2024 general election, with veteran Fine Gael TD and former agriculture minister Michael Creed retiring, the party ran his cousin and namesake, Macroom councillor Michael Creed, and Kanturk councillor John Paul O’Shea.

Fianna Fáil ran outgoing TDs Aindrias Moynihan and Michael Moynihan, who share a surname but are unrelated.

When the sixth and final count was declared after 3am of the second day in the count centre at the Mallow GAA complex, Mr O’Shea took the third and final seat behind poll-topper Aindrias Moynihan and Michael Moynihan, finishing 659 votes ahead of Mr Creed.

It was only the second time in the history of the constituency that a candidate bearing the surname Creed had not been elected.

The now-retired Michael Creed had won a seat in Cork North-West at every election bar one from 1989 to 2020, narrowly losing out to his running mate Gerard Murphy in 2002.

His late father Donal was returned by voters in all four general elections between 1981 and 1987, serving as a junior minister between 1981 and 1982.

This, Mr Harris said, was “an example of Fine Gael renewal in action”, noting that the Creed family had made “an incredible contribution” to the party and constituency.

“We have 23 new TDs, one of them is here in Cork North West, John Paul O’Shea. We have 13 new senators, one them here is in Cork North West, Eileen Lynch.

“I’m here to open her office, on the Main Street of Macroom, to serve people,” he said.

“This is a constituency where we will playing for two seats — it’s a long time away, don’t let anyone worry — but we will be playing for two seats in the next general election.”

Ms Lynch concurred, saying that while politics was “a very unpredictable game”, she was hopeful.

“I’ve been involved in the party since I was 16, I’ve been an elected representative since 2019.

“I’m really enjoying being in the Seanad, and running for the Dáil in the next election and taking back a Dáil seat in the southern part of this constituency would be the goal,” Ms Lynch said.