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Martin Lonergan from Goatenbridge, Ardfinnan, who intends to contest the local elections this year as an Independent candidate for the Cahir/Clonmel area.

A 32-year-old from Goatenbridge, Ardfinnan, County Limerick has announced that he intends to contest the upcoming elections for the Cahir/Clonmel area as an Independent candidate. Martin Lonergan was offered the chance to join Deputy Mattie McGrath's team as an Independent, after he had resigned from the Fianna Fail party when he failed to secure a nomination at their convention last November.

Martin had been a member of the Fianna Fail party since 1999 and while he said he regretted having to resign, the time had come to join a team that welcomed energetic and open-minded candidates, while at the same time sharing many of the same principles of his former party. 

"POLITICAL ROPES"

Martin said he was privileged to have the full support of Deputy McGrath, someone whom he had known for all of his adult lifetime, including their mutual time in the Fianna Fail party. He added that he had "learned the political ropes" while working for Deputy McGrath, after he was first elected to the Dáil and that he continues to do so, after recently returning to Mattie’s Clonmel office in a part-time capacity.

Now that his announcement is in the public domain, Martin is eager to begin canvassing, so that he can meet as many constituents as possible over the next four months. Through canvassing, he hopes to hear first hand, what kind of issues the voters want addressed and what the newly elected county council must do.

He also has his own personal list of priorities to address, including the closing down of the council offices in Cahir and South Tipperary, the proposed EirGrid pylon routes, the need for a pedestrian bridge in Ardfinnan, as well as the need for a new industry in the old MOY ISOVER plant; he will also be pushing for affordable water rates and increased funding for community based projects.

In the past, Martin has had a lot of experience in voluntary roles, including being national secretary of Muintir na Tire and he said that he fully understands the importance of putting aside one’s special interests for the betterment of the overall and he is looking forward to working with the voters.

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