Bailieborough Councillor Niamh Smyth confirmed tonight on her Facebook page that she has been added to the ticket by Fianna Fáil headquarters to contest the general election in Cavan/Monaghan.

Brendan Smith T.D.

Outgoing TD and former Minister Brendan Smith was the only candidate selected at a recent constituency convention, which left a shortage of a female candidate and also no-one from the Monaghan end, where Dr Rory O’Hanlon was once the vote-getter. It will be interesting to see if a third person is added to the ticket from the Monaghan end and my guess is that whoever is chosen will also be female (although Cllr Seamus Coyle had shown an interest at one stage). This would help FF to reach the 30% quota of female candidates they need to qualify for a handout from the state in order to bring more women into politics.

Election Poster from the Fianna Fáil archives. Times have changed a lot since then…