BREAKING: Fine Gael add Mary Newman to Tipperary ticket for next General Election

Mary Newman has been added to the Fine Gael party ticket in the Tipperary constituency and will be running for election alongside Garret Ahearn in the next General Election.

The Fine Gael Executive Council met on Wednesday evening and agreed on the addition of a candidate in Tipperary for the next General Election.

Delighted to have been added to the FG ticket in Tipperary this evening. Work starts in morning. Really looking forward to campaign to win a seat for @FineGael in #Tipp @Tipperary_FG

— Mary Newman (@Mary4Tipperary) July 4, 2018

Mary Newman qualified as a vet over 17 years ago and currently works for a large multinational company.

"I'm deeply committed to the rebuilding of Fine Gael in this constituency having worked tirelessly through my work on the Tipp FG taskforce review, the hustings and ultimately the convention last March. I'm delighted to have been chosen as a candidate for Fine Gael in Tipperary for the next General Election and I look forward to the task ahead in securing at least one seat for Fine Gael in Tipperary," she said in a statement. 

Her current role involves delivering information and education to both vets and farmers with the primary focus on improving farm production and profitability.

She is married to fellow vet Tom Julian, from Cappawhite. Tom is a senior partner in O’Connor Julian Veterinary Hospital in Cashel. They live on their own family farm in Lagganstown, Golden with their four children.

Having moved to Tipperary whilst working in cattle practice in North Cork in 2003 she has been a very active party member, canvasser and campaign manager for FG in Tipperary over the past 15 years. 

"I truly believe society benefits most when public representatives are actually representative of much of ‘middle Ireland’; as in working parents, juggling family commitments and a demanding career. My employers have offered me a leave of absence from my current role to focus on politics and on winning a seat for FG in Tipperary and I am very grateful to them for their support and understanding over the past year.

"I look forward to working full time in politics, continuing to work within my community as I have always done, on projects such as the Cashel Playground Development and Rockwell Rovers Redevelopment project amongst others which I have been invited to be involved in as a community leader," said Ms Newman. 

Newman, a  sister of  Fine Gael TD Kate O Connell, unsuccessfully contested a Seanad by-election earlier this year.