Labour councillor Ciarán Ahern has been re-selected as Labour’s general election candidate in Dublin South-West.
Ahern previously ran for Labour in 2020 in the 5-seater, attaining 5.3% of first preferences.
The 5-seater was dominated by Sinn Féin’s Seán Crowe in 2020, who attained 29.7% of first preferences.
Crowe’s transfers proved instrumental in getting People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy elected.
Ahern’s most direct rival will be Green TD Noel Francis Duffy, who received 7.3% of first preferences in 2020.
Signs point to Duffy’s seat potentially being in pearl at the upcoming general election as the Greens saw an electoral wipeout on South Dublin County Council in June.
Ahern, by contrast, scooped 10.5% of first preferences for Labour in Rathfarnham-Tempelogue in June’s local elections, coupled with Pamela Kearns’ poll-topping 17.4% of first preferences giving Labour two councillors in the constituency that makes up part of Dublin South-West at a local level.
Should Ahern close the gap on Duffy, a seat could come into play for Labour.
In Rathfarnham-Tempelogue, the Green share of the vote went from a poll-topping 14.1% in 2019 to 5.4% in 2024, demonstrating that the soft left vote is very much up for grabs at a general election.
The other local electoral areas covered in Dublin South-West are Tallaght Central and South, as well as Firhouse-Bohernabreena.
Labour did not run candidates in those three constituencies, which were marked by poor turnout, but also saw the Green share of the vote drop drastically compared to 2019.
In Tallaght Central, the Green share of the vote dropped from 7.6% in 2019 to 2% in 2024, while the share of the vote in Tallaght South went from 4.3% to just 1% this year.
Ahern said, “I’m really proud to be selected to run in the next general election, whenever that may be.”
“We’re building something very special here in Dublin South-West, so come join us and help make a kinder, fairer and more sustainable Ireland,” he said.
Dublin South-West was formerly a Labour stronghold, getting 2 TDs elected there in 2011 with former party leader Pat Rabbitte and Eamonn Maloney winning seats there for the party.
Labour’s 2016 election wipeout, along with the constituency taking a decidedly left-wing turn since 2014 following Paul Murphy’s shock 2014 by-election win, means that Labour struggled in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.
However, Labour’s haul of 3 councillors on South Dublin County Council, as well as Aodhán Ó Ríordáin’s Europe win, indicates that voters may have warmed back up to Labour.
Local TD Paul Murphy has ruled out including Labour and the Greens in his left-wing electoral pact, but new Green leader Roderic O’Gorman has shown a desire for his party, Labour and the Social Democrats to hash out an electoral alliance after the next general election.