Election 2020: Murphy will ensure colourful battle in Wexford
The man in the pink shirt may be gone but a colourful constituency battle is still on the cards in Wexford.
The departure of outspoken Independent TD Mick Wallace to the European Parliament last year has added a new dimension and leaves the fifth and final seat open.
Mr Wallace has endorsed GAA referee and soccer coach Seanie O’Shea who is running under the Independents 4 Change banner.
While the Wallace name may not appear on the ballot paper this time around, the constituency will not be lacking controversial candidates with the entrance of Verona Murphy in the race.
The president of the Road Haulage Association drew significant attention and criticism during the recent by-election when she ran for Fine Gael before the party dumped her over her remarks about migrants and a video she posted in which she claimed she was the subject of a character assassination by the media.
Ms Murphy, now running as an Independent, received more than 9,000 first preference votes in November’s vote. She is still something of an unknown entity but Fine Gael will no doubt see her as a threat who could inflict serious damage on their two outgoing representatives.
If Ms Murphy, who isselling herself as a South Wexford candidate, polls well, she could steal the seat from Paul Kehoe.
While Fine Gael has atask on its hands, it would be a disappointing outcome for the party if Michael D’Arcy and Mr Kehoe are not re-elected.
Labour is traditionally strong in the area and leader Brendan Howlin topped the poll here in 2016 at a time when his party was imploding. He is confident of retaining his seat and could again be first elected in the constituency.
Outgoing Fianna Fáil TD James Browne, whose father John also represented the party in the Dáil, has campaigned on local issues including smoky coal, which has severely impacted air quality in Enniscorthy. He is likely to retain his seat and the party will be hopeful that Wexford’s newest TD Malcolm Byrne will also keep the by-election seat he won just before Christmas.
However, Mr Byrne does not have geography on his side and will be scrapping for votes in Gorey against Mr D’Arcy.
Some of the support gained in the by-election could also go back to Mr Browne and he is expected to lose votes in the south of the county to fellow Fianna Fáil member Michael Sheehan, who is New Ross-based.
Given their rise in popularity, the Green Party candidate Karin Dubsky will also be an interesting one to watch.
Sinn Féin has put forward Enniscorthy-based Johnny Mythen, who narrowly lost out on a Dáil seat in 2016 when just 52 votes separated him and Fine Gael’s Mr Kehoe who was eventually elected. He failed to retain his council seat in last year’s local elections but bounced back to put in a solid performance in November’s by-election.
