Last week, we brought you the news that three men had put themselves forward to take the County Council seat of the late Portlaoise Cllr Jerry Lodge.
And now LaoisToday can reveal that another three men have also thrown their hats into the ring.
There was widespread shock and sadness at the start of April when the popular Fianna Fail politician passed away suddenly after a short illness.
Mr Lodge was one of Fianna Fail’s longest-serving elected representatives in the country.
His seat has remained vacant since his passing but LaoisToday understands that Fianna Fail will fill it by the end of June when they co-opt a candidate on to the Council serving the Portlaoise Municipal District.
And the three new people who are now also in the running to replace him are Donal Kelly, Dan Carmody and Brian Brennan.
Kelly is the Chief Executive Officer of Greenmill Foods, a food delivery company in the Laois and Kildare area, and comes from Portlaoise.
He owned and ran a camera shop on Main Street in Portlaoise, Future Photo, until 2011.
Dan Carmody is a former editor of the Leinster Express and also worked with the Irish Press and Topic newspapers. From Portlaoise, Mr Carmody is a life-long Fianna Fail supporter who has also owned a number of pubs in the region.
Brian Brennan is the current chairman of the Spink Cumann of Fianna Fail – which is within the Portlaoise Electoral Area.
He is behind the popular Brennan’s Gin brand which is produced by An Sean-Teach. He is also heavily involved in the Spink-Knock community.
They join the other three people who are already in the running to replace the late Mr Lodge – Dominic Dunne, John O’Neill and David Ryan.
Dominic Dunne, originally from The Swan, runs and owns Portlaoise business Dom’s Tyres. He has been actively involved in the campaign to save Portlaoise Hospital from being downgraded – sitting on the Hospital Action Committee.
John O’Neill is originally from Stradbally but lives in Portlaoise and has been actively involved in the Fianna Fail party for many years.
David Ryan contested the 2014 Local Elections for Fianna Fail in Portlaoise. It was his first time to run for election and he polled 242 votes and was eliminated on the 6th count. From Portlaoise, Mr Ryan now lives and works in Dunlin.
LaoisToday understands that the Lodge family did not seek to put forward someone to take over from the late Jerry.
A Fianna Fail source confirmed to LaoisToday that a meeting is scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Here, it will be decided whether members of the Portlaoise Cumann or Fianna Fail Headquarters will elect the successor.
Whoever fills the seat will only have it for a year though as the next Local Election is due to take place in May 2019.
Changes to the local political areas are expected to be announced in the coming weeks – which may see alterations to the current Portlaoise seven-seat district.
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