Council likely to back Davis nomination

HOME SUPPORT Mary Davis, pictured here in the Mayo colours, now looks a certain starter in the Presidential election race.

Mayo County Council likely to back Davis nomination


Trevor Quinn and Anton McNulty

MARY Davis, who is seeking to run in the Presidential election, will address Mayo County Council in September with a view to securing the a nomination after both Fine Gael and Fianna FΡil representatives said they would be willing to support her candidacy. 
Fine Gael County Councillor Joe Mellett was speaking on behalf of the party at yesterday’s monthly meeting of Mayo County Council where Cllr Richard Finn called for the Council to support Davis’ bid for the presidency.
Cllr Mellett stated that Mary Davis was ‘a very credible candidate with a proven track record’.
Fianna FΡil Councillor Al McDonnell said there was unanimous support for Mary Davis at yesterday’s Mayo County Council meeting, and he said the former Mayo person of the year had done ‘tremendous work both nationally and internationally’.
Cllr Finn’s proposal was backed by Cllr Frank Durcan who said that as a Mayo person, the Council should back her nomination and added that like Mary Robinson she has done a lot for the county and for Ireland.
Cllr Mellett said that while Fine Gael will be supporting their candidate, Gay Mitchell, they would not be opposing Mary Davis if she seeks the backing of Mayo County Council and wished her well in the election.
Cllr MicheΡl McNamara also said the Fianna FΡil would support her bid to be a candidate in the election.
Meanwhile yesterday Mary Davis addressed Limerick County Council having already received support from both Louth and Monaghan County Councils.
The Presidential hopeful only needs to receive the backing of two more local authorities to formally enter the race for the Áras.
Cllr McDonnell said Ms Davis was an excellent candidate who had appeal within his party, but he also stressed that there was still a distinct possibility of Fianna FΡil running a presidential candidate.
Cllr McDonnell added, “There is a strong local consensus that we should have our own representative. I think the local organisation would be in support of encouraging our own representation and that is something we will be discussing so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”