Senators and councillor expected to compete for Sinn Féin MEP nomination
Lynn Boylan is seeking a return to Brussels, having taken a seat in a surprise result in 2014, but having lost her seat amid Sinn Féin's dismal 2019 local and European election polling day. File photo: Moya Nolan
Two sitting senators and a Dublin City councillor are expected to compete for the Sinn Féin nomination to run in next year's European elections in Dublin.
The party will hold its European selection convention on Saturday and senators Lynn Boylan and Fintan Warfield are expected to put their names forward for nomination, along with councillor Daithi Doolan.
It is understood that the party is aiming for a gender-balanced ticket with nominations closing on Wednesday.
Ms Boylan is seeking a return to Brussels, having taken a seat in a surprise result in 2014, but having lost her seat amid Sinn Féin's dismal 2019 local and European election polling day. She was elected to the Seanad in 2020 on the Agricultural Panel and was the party candidate for the Dublin Bay South by-election in 2021.
In recent months, there has been some speculation that she would be a candidate in the next general election, likely in Dublin South-West, but she has put her name forward for Europe.
Mr Warfield is the party's Seanad spokesperson on LGBT+ affairs and was the first senator elected in 2016 when he was just 24. He retained his seat in 2020.
Mr Doolan was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2004, but lost his seat in 2009. He was subsequently re-elected in 2014 and retained his seat in 2019.
Whoever the party does elect will face competition from sitting MEPs Clare Daly, Ciaran Cuffe and Barry Andrews, who are all expected to run again, but the retirement of Fine Gael's Frances Fitzgerald will mean that one incumbent will not run again.
Earlier this month, the reported that Fine Gael is eyeing up a "dream team" European ticket of former TDs Noel Rock and Kate O'Connell for the Dublin constituency.
It is understood Mr Rock, who was elected to the Dáil for the Dublin North-West constituency in 2016 before losing his seat in 2020, has been approached and is seriously considering a run for Europe. Ms O'Connell said she has not yet been approached by the party.
Members of the Electoral Commission and officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will on Tuesday discuss next year's local and European elections with the Oireachtas Housing Commission.
In his opening statement, the commission's Chief Executive will tell TDs that the organisation will carry out a report about every election.
"[A]s well as the next General Election, we have also been tasked after every electoral event with preparing an independent report on how those events were administered. This work will include visits to polling places, observing the voting process in action, attending and observing local and national counts and gathering on-the-ground detail on the operation of our electoral events."
