Search
03 Oct 2025
Search
03 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Cllr Patsy O'Brien pictured at the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar during the 2024 general election count (Pic: The Mayo News)
INDEPENDENT county councillor Patsy O’Brien has indicated that he will run again for the Dáil.
Cllr O’Brien commanded an impressive 5,212 first preference votes in the general election but was overtaken on transfers by Aontú’s Paul Lawless, who took the fifth and final Mayo Dáil seat.
“I scrapped him for the last seat in the general election, and if God gives me the health again, I will fight for that seat again,” Cllr O’Brien told a special meeting of Mayo County Council to ratify Deputy Lawless’s sister, Cllr Deirdre Lawless.
Cllr Lawless was co-opted into Mayo County Council in place of her brother, who vacated his seat immediately after being elected a TD after serving just over five months as a councillor.
Cllr O’Brien sought to run for Dáil Éireann as a member of Fine Gael back in 2020 but did not get the nomination from the party. He was subsequently expelled from Fine Gael.
Cllr O’Brien wished Deputy Lawless and Cllr Lawless luck in their new positions.
“I’ll be looking forward to working with Deirdre. Bear in mind that Deirdre is joining a team that has over 97 years of experience in Claremorris,” he said.
Cllr O’Brien asked Cllr Lawless to support the development of the Western Rail Corridor, the SDZ at Knock Airport and the renovation of the council chamber in Áras an Chontae in Castlebar. The cost of refurbishing the chamber - estimated at over €700,000 - were publicly criticised by Deputy Lawless during his term as a councillor.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
