Senator Seán Kyne and Councillor Eddie Hoare are expected to go head-to-head at a Fine Gael by-election selection convention later this month.
Kyne, a former TD for Galway West, and Hoare – who makes no secret of his Dáil ambitions – are both confident of winning nominations to force a vote amongst party members on February 22.
Salthill-based Galway city councillor Clodagh Higgins, who ran for the Galway East Dáil constituency at the 2024 general election, will not contest the convention.
Fine Gael’s Dublin HQ is known to have discussed running two candidates in Galway West, to ‘blood’ a rookie alongside an experienced campaigner. Former Young Fine Gael president, Eoghan Gallagher, from Claregalway, is the leading contender, although he has not declared if he will seek a nomination.
Hoare, a city councillor for seven years, has confirmed he wants to run. Speaking to the Advertiser, Kyne played his cards closer to his chest: “I am close to making up my mind, and you’ll hear from me next week,” he said.
In political circles, both men are known to have been prepping for a Dáil campaign for several months.
Nominations remain open until next Thursday, February 22. Fine Gael leader, Tánaiste Simon Harris, has appointed Minister Peter Burke TD as Director of Election for the empty Galway West seat vacated by Catherine Connolly’s election to the presidency.
“As Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, I know the key issues facing Galway West businesses, both big and small, especially the tourism sector which plays a huge part in the Galway local economy,” he said. “With global uncertainty, we can take nothing for granted. A focus on jobs, skills and housing for people in Galway West will be central to this by-election, ensuring Galway people can live, study and find quality employment and housing locally.”
Party insiders suggest Kyne might edge out city-based Hoare in a tight nomination race, especially as the Galway West membership has an older, rural profile which may give more weight to Kyne’s national experience and Moycullen base. Supporters of Minister Hildegarde Naughton, based in Oranmore, are also expected to back Kyne, whose stronghold is far removed from their bailiwick.
Councillor Hoare, an accountant for 10 years, enjoys a high profile across Galway as a top-tier inter-county footballer from 2008 to 2016. The former mayor says he has been attending two Irish classes per week over the past year to improve his cúpla focal, which he asserts is vital for representing Galway nationally.
First elected to the Dáil in 2011, Kyne, a former agri-environmental consultant, has served as government chief whip, and minister of state in a number of departments.
Although he decided to retire from politics after failing to win a Dáil seat in 2024, he reconsidered when Simon Harris urged him to run for the senate’s Cultural and Educational panel. On election, he was the first person from Galway to be appointed Leader of the Seanad.
Galway West Fine Gael members of at least two years’ standing will be eligible to vote at the party’s selection convention.
