Eight Local Election candidates contest four seats in Roscrea-Templemore

Four seats are up for grabs in the hotly contested Roscrea-Templemore Local Electoral Area and eight candidates will greet voters on the ballot papers on June 7.

Youth and experience will be on the ballot for voters in Roscrea and Templemore, where a mixture of fresh faces and experienced local representatives makes for an exciting race - in an area where emotive issues like immigration, housing and access to essential services are at the front of constituents’ minds.

Labour’s youngest candidate in the country is running in this electoral area and for the first time, there will be a Green Party candidate, as well as an array of outspoken and popular independent candidates.

Former Tipperary TD and sitting Councillor, Fine Gael’s Noel Coonan, is retiring from politics, while Fianna Fáil are running two candidates with one from each town in the electoral area.

Those Fianna Fáil hopefuls are sitting Councillor Michael Smith from Roscrea and Deirdre Ryan from Templemore. 
The latter, a first time candidate in these Local Elections shot to prominence during a local campaign against the downgrading of access to the swimming pool in the Garda Training College.

Deirdre Ryan is also a mother of three children and has worked for 15 years as a counsellor and psychotherapist. Councillor Michael Smith, son of former Defence Minister and Tipperary TD Michael Smith Snr, received the highest number of first preference votes and was first past the post in the 2019 Local Elections.

Fine Gael will run one candidate in William Kennedy, a native of Templetuohy, who is focused on issues including the lack of GPs in rural towns and villages, waiting lists for medical procedures and supports for agriculture. 

Sinn Féin is running one candidate, Brendán O’Conchuir from Templemore, who is a postgraduate law student and very active local political activist who has often highlighted the need to strengthen local democracy. 

Labour will also run one candidate in Jordan Lewis, a Roscrea native, who is studying for a degree in mortuary science, and, at 26 years of age, is Labour’s youngest candidate in the Irish Local Elections.

Mr Lewis is campaigning on the provision of better public transport and better support for families of people who have autism. 

Roscrea-Templemore candidates. First column on the left: Deirdre Ryan, Eddie Moran, Willie Kennedy. Second column: Michael Smith, Aisling Maloney. Third column: Shane Lee, Jordan Lewis and Brendan O’Conchuir.

Two non-party candidates will compete in this electoral area, and both are members of the “Lowry Team” of local representatives led by Tipperary TD Michael Lowry.

Roscrea-based Councillor Shane Lee and Templemore’s Councillor Eddie Moran.

Both hope to keep their seats and are focused on housing, garda resources and access to essential services.

The Green Party candidate is Aisling Maloney, who is 21-years-old and making her debut in politics. A Roscrea native, she is passionate about environmental issues and has singled out tackling vacancy and dereliction, as well as curing the dearth of social spaces and events for younger people, as some of her main concerns.

Over 15,000 people are eligible to vote in the Roscrea and Templemore Local Electoral Area, and in 2019, over 9,000 people cast their vote.  

In 2019, Fianna Fáil won 35.8% of the first preference votes, with Fine Gael winning 25.6% and 34.4% going to Independent candidates.