Dublin mayor says he is ‘in it to win it’ as he enters by-election race

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

Dublin mayor Ray McAdam said he was “in it to win it”, before being selected as the Fine Gael candidate for a by-election triggered by the resignation of Paschal Donohoe.

Donohoe, who resigned as finance minister and a TD, took up the second most senior position at the World Bank, as managing director and chief knowledge officer.

At a selection convention in Dublin city on Monday, party members heard that McAdam, who is a former parliamentary assistant to Donohoe, was the only nomination received to be the party’s candidate.

The Cavan-born father-of-one has lived in Dublin for more than 20 years and has been a councillor for 17 years.

He told the room that Dublin “deserves the very best”, that he loves the “honesty” of the Dublin Central constituency, and said he was “in it to win it”.

“There is no constituency quite like Dublin Central,” he said.

He paid tribute to the communities “of workers and carers”, who have “known pressure”, and said the choice in the byelection was between “a voice of noise or a voice of substance, a voice that comments on problems or a voice that works to solve them”.

Director of elections for the byelection, Minister of State Neale Richmond; TD Emer Currie; MEP Regina Doherty; Senator Evanne Ni Chuilinn and secretary general of Fine Gael John Carroll, were at the selection convention.

Richmond paid tribute to “the great” Mr Donohoe and thanked him for his work for the constituency.

Councillor Colm O’Rourke, who proposed McAdam, said he had learned how to canvass from him, before telling the room: “Let’s take our seat back in Dublin central.”

Among the confirmed candidates for the Dublin Central election are Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, who just lost out on a seat during the 2024 general election, and councillor Janice Boylan, a running mate of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.

She competed for the Sinn Féin nomination against Gillian Sherratt, the mother of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, a nine-year-old boy who died after years of waiting for spinal surgery.

Councillor Daniel Ennis for the Social Democrats, Councillor Janet Horner for the Green Party, Ruth O’Dea for the Labour Party, musician Eoghan O Ceannabhain for People Before Profit, and Ian Noel Smyth for Aontu are also candidates.

The Dublin Central byelection will take place in May, as will a byelection for the Galway West constituency, the seat vacated by Catherine Connolly when she became President of Ireland.