Walsh ‘no’ vote could open FG door for O’Mahony

As Galway West TD Brian Walsh faces certain expulsion from the Fine Gael  party, it has already has fuelled rumours about who will take his place on the party ticket at the next general election – with plenty of speculation surrounding former Galway football boss John O’Mahony.

It was no surprise when the city TD announced this week that he would not be voting for the abortion legislation – once he does this, he will lose the party whip and will effectively become an independent Dáil deputy.

It is a major blow for Fine Gael who will lose two of their Oireachtas members in Galway West, with Senator Fidelma Healy Eames also saying that she would not be supporting the Bill.

And it has intensified speculation that current Mayo TD John O’Mahony will be lured into Galway West where he has still a lot of admirers from his managerial days with Galway.

It would mean that he would be running alongside sitting TD Sean Kyne in Moycullen and Cllr Hildegarde Naughton in the city. Fine Gael would consider this a strong enough ticket to retain two seats.

A party source said that if Deputy Walsh does not vote in favour of the Government, he will not stand for Fine Gael again.

See more on this story in this week’s Connacht Tribune