Cowley joins Labour and is set to run again in Mayo

Cowley joins Labour


Edwin McGreal

Former TD Dr Jerry Cowley has joined the Labour Party. He will run for the party in Mayo in the next general election and is targetting a cabinet seat.
The story, exclusively broken on www.mayonews.ie earlier this afternoon, was confirmed at the opening of the party’s National Conference in Galway.
Labour have not won a seat in Mayo since 1927 when Knock man TJ O’Connell was elected.
Cowley was an Independent TD in Mayo for five years, from 2002-07.
Dr Cowley lost his seat in 2007, after topping the poll in 2002. He has enjoyed a relatively low profile since.
During his time as a TD he was an outspoken critic of aspects of the Corrib Gas development in north Mayo and Cowley joining the Labour Party and returning to the political arena will certainly add some further intrigue to the ongoing Corrib controversy.
Dr Cowley is a well-known community activist and had a stunning success in 2002, famously getting a vote in every single ballot box in the county.
The Labour Party have traditionally been weak in Mayo since TJ O'Connell lost his seat in 1932. They currently have two town council seats and no county council seats. Cllr Harry Barrett, Castlebar Town Council, ran unsuccessfully for the party in the 2007 General Election.