Callaghan makes history as Deering loses out on nomination

“YOU can make history here tonight.” Those were the words of Clonegal’s Michael Murphy addressing a packed Fine Gael general election selection convention last Thursday evening.

And that’s exactly what happened, when Catherine Callaghan became the party’s first-ever female nominee chosen to represent the Carlow/Kilkenny constituency. Around 500 party members gathered in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, where they were directed to select three candidates to contest the general election, which is hotly tipped to take place in October.

Catherine, who lost out on a seat in the Tullow Municipal District by just one vote, will be joined on the party ticket by former mayor of Kilkenny cllr David Fitzgerald and former cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council cllr Michael Doyle.

In her five-minute presentation, an impassioned Catherine appealed to members to reward her “ferocious personal motivation”, telling the crowd: “I will not stop when I’m tired, I’ll stop when the work is done.” Former TD Pat Deering was also seeking nomination and outlined his “experience, passion, energy, commitment and hunger”. However, it wasn’t to be for the Rathvilly man, who had been elected to the Dáil on two previous occasions. Thomastown’s Orla Kelly also failed to secure a nomination.

The meeting was chaired by minister for further education Patrick O’Donovan, whose great-grandfather hailed from Tullow. Highlighting the calibre of the local candidates and reflecting on the historic nature of the night, minister O’Donovan said: “I’m delighted this convention looks different than what it would have done 20 years ago. There are more young people, there are more women, there are more people of colour, there are more people who aren’t Irish, who weren’t born on the island of Ireland. They are all welcome, and we need to be saying that because our country is different.” Speaking to The Nationalist on Friday, a jubilant Catherine said: “I know it’s probably a massive thing to be the first female ever selected to run by the party in this constituency, but I probably don’t feel the enormity of it right now. My mum came from a time where women didn’t have the opportunity to be all that they could be. They weren’t allowed to reach their potential. That’s why, if an opportunity presents itself, you should grab it with both hands.” Catherine says that coming so close to winning a seat in the local elections, it’s hard for her to say precisely how she feels. “To lose by the smallest of margins in Tullow, I had to have faith.” 

While no date has been set for the general election, Catherine says her campaign is already underway.