Limerick council hopeful defects from Fianna Fail to Independent Ireland over ‘ongoing games’

A FIRST-time candidate in this summer’s local election has defected from Fianna Fail to Richard O’Donoghue’s new Independent Ireland party.

Esther Aherne, a health and safety officer based in Patrickswell has accused Fianna Fail of “ongoing games” and "mismanagement" of her campaign.

She also said the party has an "inadequate" support system for female election candidates.

Ms Aherne was the first candidate on the Fianna Fail ticket for Limerick City West last December, and started canvassing before Christmas.

However, at the end of January this year, the party announced her neighbour in Patrickswell, the former Fine Gael activist, Cllr Fergus Kilcoyne would join the party and contest City West.

Last month, Fianna Fail also re-selected metropolitan district leader, Cllr Azad Talukder, who will contest City West.

Local party bosses have already published a number of adverts featuring photos of councillors Kilcoyne and Talukder alongside Ms Aherne.

It’s understood the party will not add a candidate to replace her at this late stage.

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The mother-of-two has many years of activism in Fianna Fail. Her 86-year-old father Jerry Hayes is a lifelong member of the party.

But she said things were made difficult for her.

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She claims she was left in the dark for a long time around who her running mates would be after being faced with the same questions from the people she was canvassing.

"This behaviour discredited my campaign from the start. It was not until a few weeks ago that I was verbally informed for definite who was in or who was out, even though I have been out on the doors for the past few months with very little support or guidance," added Ms Aherne.

The first-time candidate says the party were aware of her concerns - she had threatened to leave Fianna Fail in February if things did not improve.

"I simply could not work or grow with a party that did not support me along my journey. It’s very disheartening because other female candidates, like me, have so much to offer, especially now during global turmoil and huge uncertainty."

Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins did not return a request for comment.

Independent Ireland general secretary Mr O'Donoghue, a former Fianna Fail member, said: "She’s a fantastic candidate with fantastic energy. That’s who we are looking for."