Walsh to run for Labour in Dublin West

Labour has selected Fingal County Council member John Walsh as their candidate in Dublin West.

Walsh was recently re-elected in Castleknock, increasing his vote share from 9% in 2019 to 13.7% in June’s local elections.

Walsh was first co-opted onto Fingal County Council in January 2014, narrowly losing out in the 2014 locals, before winning his 2nd election race in 2019 and establishing himself as one of Labour’s most prominent councillors on the Northside.

Dublin West is one of Labour’s target seats, with the seat formerly held by former Tánaiste Joan Burton.

Labour held the seat from 2002 to 2020 under Burton, but the Labour share of the vote tumbled to under 5% of first preferences in 2020, with Roderic O’Gorman of the Greens and Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly majorly benefiting from the collapse of the Labour vote in the area.

With Dublin West becoming a 5-seater following the constituency boundary redraws last year, all parties will fancy their chances in picking up a seat in the area, with Labour being no exception.

The Greens’ poor electoral performance in June’s local elections in Dublin West could serve as a path to victory for Labour, but this is counteracted by Sinn Féin and Fine Gael possibly running two candidates in the area along with a mooted Dáil comeback bid from former Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger.

Despite strong performances elsewhere in Dublin, the Social Democrats fared relatively poorly in the local electoral areas that fall in Dublin West, with their only victory coming in Cabra-Glasnevin for incumbent councillor Cat O’Driscoll.

In Castleknock, Walsh handily saw off competition from the Social Democrats’ Luke Daly who only received 3.6% of first preferences and was eliminated on the second count.

Outside of his work on Fingal County Council, Walsh lectures at Trinity College, lecturing in higher education.

Walsh has featured in Northside People on a wide number of topics, ranging from the decline of Ireland’s local democracy and fighting to secure better services for children with disabilities in his native Dublin 15.

The neighbouring Dublin Central has seen Labour pick Senator Marie Sherlock as their general election candidate.

Labour will be looking to build on a strong set of local election results for the party which saw its best haul since 2009, with Aodhán Ó Ríordáin’s election as an MEP and becoming the joint-largest party on Fingal County Council serving as a comeback for the party.