O’Brien to run for Dáil as Independent 

POLL-TOPPING county councillor Patsy O’Brien is set to run for the Dáil in the general election as an Independent candidate. 

In a brief statement, Cllr O’Brien he had been 'inundated with requests’ to run since being re-elected on the first count in the Claremorris Local Electoral Area with 2,739 first preference votes. 

Cllr O’Brien previously refused to confirm if he would run in the general election when asked by The Mayo News following his local election victory in June. 

The Robeen-based representative previously unsuccessfully sought the nomination from Fine Gael to run in the 2020 general election. He was later expelled from the party following a seven-month-long disciplinary investigation.

“I am looking forward to the huge challenge ahead in the coming months,” Cllr O’Brien stated. 

It is likely that his main rival in the South Mayo area will be Ballinrobe-based Fianna Fáil county councillor Damien Ryan, who is understood to be seeking the nomination from his party. 

Fine Gael MEP, Maria Walsh, could also run in the new five-seater Mayo constituency. 

Cllr O’Brien has previously complained about the lack of Oireachtas representation in the South Mayo area. 

“When I started off in politics first it [Mayo] was two three-seaters; it was evenly divided. You had three seats in the west, you had three seats in the east, at the moment, we only can say we have one in the east, and that is in the Minister Dara Calleary. From there to the bridge in Shrule hasn’t Oireachtas level of representation,” he told The Mayo News after his election.