'Cope' and Naughton to battle for spot on Fianna Fáil ticket

Party veteran Pat 'The Cope Gallagher and Councillor Michéal Naughton will battle it out to go alongside the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue on the Fianna Fáil ticket for the General Election.

Fianna Fáil headquarters has decided to run two candidates in Donegal with one in Donegal north and another in Donegal south.

A selection convention will take place on Thursday evening in Letterkenny.

McConalogue is poised to be given a free passage to defend his seat after the respective withdrawals of Senator Niall Blaney, Councillor Donal 'Mandy' Kelly and Ben Harkin.

However, there will be a vote between Gallagher and Naughton to be the second Fianna Fáil candidate in the county.

Gallagher was usurped in 2020, but has remained busy behind the scenes and is set to fight for a return to political life.

“I have given my whole life to assisting individuals, communities and families and so long as people want me to assist and advise them, I am happy to do that,” he said at the local election count in June.

Gallagher served as a Donegal County Councillor from 1979 and was a TD from 1981 to 1997.

Gallagher returned to the Dail from 2002-09 and again from 2016-20 while he also had two spells as an MEP, from 1994-02 and 2009-14.

Naughton topped the poll in the Donegal area when claiming a whopping 1,847 first preference votes.

The general manager of the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny, Naughton is also the President of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.

“During the local election, we got a lot of it on the door, people asking if I would consider it,” Naughton said recently.

“If the Fianna Fáil party and the people want my name to go forward, I would let my name go forward.”

Senator Blaney threw his support behind McConalogue in announcing his withdrawal ahead of the convention, which will take place at the Clanree Hotel.

Senator Blaney said that having a Minister at the Cabinet table was a big part of that jigsaw and having himself and McConalogue on the same ticket “would just jeopardise the chances of holding that seat”.

Councillor Kelly, who obtained 1,843 first preference votes at this year's local election and was the poll topper in the Letterkenny local electoral area, said he felt that he was not “at the moment in a strong enough position to make it through what is going to be a very tough convention.”