CITY North community activist Pat O’Neill has called time on his former party, Fianna Fáil, and plans to run as an Independent candidate in the upcoming local elections.
Mr O’Neill, from Clonmacken in Caherdavin, ran under the Fianna Fáil banner in the 2019 local elections and was narrowly defeated for the last council seat.
This defeat, he told the Limerick Post, didn’t stop his passion and drive and he has continued to work hard on the issues and the concerns of his local community. However, his former party’s “indecision” to run him as a candidate this time round has pushed him to go it alone.
“In November 2023, Fianna Fáil held their convention to choose candidates for the local elections in 2024. In the early months of this year they still hadn’t decided whether I was a candidate or not so I made the decision for them. I resigned from the party with immediate effect on the 5th of March,” Mr O’Neill explains.
“I found it totally disrespectful to treat someone like this, to leave them in the balance and not have the common decency to let them know either way, especially when they asked on numerous occasions. It certainly showed me how they value people.
“The people of the Northside want someone that will work hard to enhance and grow their community. Your vote is a precious vote and so I will be hoping that over the next few weeks I can show people why a vote for me to represent them at local level will be a vote to continue the hard work, but as an Independent within Limerick city council,” he added.
There was no response from Fianna Fáil in relation to Mr O’Neill’s comments at the time of going to print.
