In exactly seven days time, voting for the 2024 General Election will begin in Laois and across the country.
Hundreds of candidates will be hoping to take one of the 174 available seats across 43 constituencies.
After being with Laois-Offaly in 2020, Laois is back as a single constituency – as it was in 2016.
It was a three-seat constituency then with just six candidates running that time.
Fast forward eight years and the candidates have doubled – with a 50/50 split between men and women.
Just as we did in the Local Elections, we have resumed our ’10 Minutes With’ series.
10 of the 12 candidates agreed to be interviewed by LaoisToday as part of our 10-minute General Election podcast series.
All candidates were asked to address the same three items: how they came to be a candidate, what they would like to see achieved in the lifetime of the next Government and why someone should vote for them.
Under the brief profile of the candidates below, you can click through to listen to their episode in full.
Willie Aird (Fine Gael)
A dairy farmer in Portlaoise, Willie Aird is a veteran elected representative of 45 years, having been first elected to the old Portlaoise Town Commission in 1979 and then to the Council itself in 1985. This is his first attempt on a national level.
He is looking to hold the seat vacated by Charlie Flanagan.
Pauline Flanagan (Independent)
Pauline Flanagan shocked us all, and maybe even herself, as she announced herself as a candidate at the last minute.
Co-opted as a Laois County Councillor by Fianna Fail following the death of Jerry Lodge in 2018, she lost that seat in 2019. She ran for the party in the 2020 General Election and as an Independent in the Local Election in June.
Sean Fleming (Fianna Fail)
Sean Fleming is now the longest-standing politician on the ballot paper. First elected in 1997, he has held his seat in each of the subsequent elections – 2002, 2007, 2016 (when he topped the poll for the first time) and 2020.
This will be his seventh election to contest and if the next Dáil runs its full term, he’ll be on course to serve 29 years in Leinster House.
Jason Lynch (Independent)
Like Flanagan, Jason Lynch was very late to declare but has entered the race as an Independent.
A paramedic from Portlaoise, his story is very interesting and he outlines the reasons he put himself forward.
Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)
Maria McCormack, who lives in Portlaoise but is a native of Ballyroan, is Sinn Fein’s candidate – replacing Brian Stanley.
A candidate in the recent Local Elections in Portlaoise, she got just 276 first preference votes though if the 2020 General is anything to go by, there could be considerable growth on that.
Aisling Moran (Independent)
Aisling Moran from Killeen is also an Independent – and has also enlisted the support of her Laois County Council colleagues Ben Brennan from Crettyard, James Kelly from Mountrath and Tommy Mulligan from Portlaoise.
From the Killeen-Ballylinan area, Moran has been a Laois County Councillor since being elected for the first time in 2019. On that occasion she retained the seat for the Fine Gael party, which had been previously held by her late father John.
Elaine Mullally (Independent)
Portarlington woman Elaine Mullally, who owns Clown Around play centre in the town, was among the first confirmed candidates in Laois for this General Election and certainly the first of the new faces.
A founding member of Independent Ireland in early 2023, she was an influential figure in their Local and European Election campaigns – but parted ways shortly after.
Rosie Palmer (Green Party)
From Ballinakill, Palmer was the Green Party’s candidate in the Portlaoise Municipal District in the Local Elections back in June.
But that was a tough day for the Greens and she got just 296 first preference votes and was never in contention. A Parliamentary Assistant with Minister Pippa Hackett, she has fronted up again on this occasion.
Austin Stack (Fianna Fail)
Like Flanagan and Lynch, Austin Stack entered the race late enough as he was added to the ticket by Fianna Fail HQ.
A retired prison officer, Austin is the son of Brian Stack who was murdered by the Provisional IRA after being shot in 1983.
Brian Stanley (Independent)
A Sinn Féin TD since 2011 and a councillor prior to that since 1999, the Brian Stanley/Sinn Fein saga has been well documented at this stage.
After resigning from the party, Stanley is now an Independent Republican and looking to to retain his seat.
The following candidates either couldn’t agree a time, opted not to take part or did not respond to the LaoisToday invitation to be featured: Mary Hande (Aontu) and Ken Mooney (People Before Profit).
SEE ALSO – Check out all of our General Election coverage
SEE ALSO – Check out the full range of interviews from our ’10 minutes with …’ series
