A former Fianna Fáil local election candidate has been selected to replace Senator Jimmy Harte as the Labour party representative on Donegal County Council.
Michael McBride (44) of Kilmacrennan will be co-opted onto Donegal County Council at a meeting in Lifford today.
Mr McBride who was a staunch follower of the Blaney wing of Fianna Fáil is well known in local sporting circles as a former Chairman of the Termon GAA team and won several colleges soccer and GAA medals with St Eunan’s.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Mr McBride said he was always keen to get into local politics and couldn’t pass over on this opportunity.
“I am delighted to have been asked and after consulting my supporters the consensus is that I should go forward at this time. I have always wanted to go into politics and did put in a lot of work in the last few years,” he said.
Mr McBride polled almost 1,400 first preference votes in the last local elections. He is manager of the steel operation at Bonner Engineering in Letterkenny.
“The political landscape has changed dramatically in the last year or so and people’s attitudes have also changed. Labour is a fresh party and I’m looking forward to getting tore into it,” he added.
Mr McBride has ruled out any future ambitions in politics.
“I see myself operating at local level. I have no ambitions to run at a higher level,” he said.
The news comes after weeks of speculation surrounding the vacancy. Speaking to the Donegal News, Senator Harte said he had done a lot of soul searching over the past few weeks and felt strategically Mr McBride was best placed to fill the vacant post.
“I have a base in Letterkenny and as a part I felt we had to have a stronger presence in the Milford Electoral Area,” he said.
There had been a number of people linked to the post over the past few weeks including Brian Gribben, Peter Cutliffe, Sean McClafferty and Siobhan McLaughlin along with Senator’s Harte wife, Mary.
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