The Graigucullen-Portarlington Municipal District does, as the name suggests, stretch from one side of the county to the other, from the Carlow border to the Offaly border and runs right alongside Kildare at a number of junctures.
Graigue and Port are its large urban areas with approximately 1,800 votes cast in Portarlington five years ago and about 1,000 in Graiguecullen. In all, there were 10,163 valid votes in the district in 2019.
In terms of size, Killenard, Killeshin, Stradbally and Ballylinan are next in line in an area that also has polling stations in The Heath, Emo, Vicarstown, Rath, Timahoe, Arles, Killeen, Barrowhouse, Ballyadams, Mayo, Wolfhill.
In all there are 12 candidates here for six seats. All six outgoing councillors are contesting – Ben Brennan (Independent), Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil), PJ Kelly (Fine Gael), Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil), Aisling Moran (Fine Gael) and Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin).
Eoin Barry (Labour) and Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael), who ran unsuccessfully in 2019, are back on the ballot paper again with Charlie Hackett (Green Party), Aaron Kelly (Sinn Féin), Joey Kennedy (Fianna Fáil) and Patsy Fennell (Independent Ireland) also contesting.
Nine of the 12 candidates in this area agreed to be interviewed by LaoisToday as part of our 10-minute Local Election podcast series.
Candidates could avail of an in-person interview in the LaoisToday office in the Portlaoise Enterprise Centre – or to conduct their interview online over Zoom.
All candidates were asked to address the same three items: their background, what they’d like to see done in the next five years of Laois County Council 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.
Eoin Barry (Labour)
Having run as a candidate for the first time in 2019 and missed out on the last seat, Labour’s Eoin Barry is back once again seeking to win a seat in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District.
He chats about his background, his experience from five years ago and what he would like to see achieved across the next term of Laois County Council.
Ben Brennan (Independent)
Having first been elected in 2009 in the old Luggacurren area, Ben Brennan is now contesting his fourth Local Election. The independent councillor from the Crettyard area first decided to run as an independent when he was overlooked by Fianna Fáil.
He chats about his background, his involvement in athletics, GAA, community employment scheme and the Credit Union and the main issues facing his locality.
Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil)
Padraig Fleming (Fianna Fáil)From a family steeped in Fianna Fáil, locally and nationally, Padraig Fleming has been a Laois County Councillor since 2009 and is seeking a fourth term in the upcoming elections.
He chats about his early interest, his working career in Glanbia, how he sincerely enjoys working for people and small detail that makes up a councillor’s work.
Charlie Hackett (Green Party)
Charlie Hackett from the Green Party is one of the youngest candidates in the country. A student in UL, he comes from a family immersed in politics currently as his mother Pippa is a Senator and Minister, while his dad Mark holds a seat on Offaly County Council.
Charlie chats about some of the main issues he has been detecting locally, why he put his name forward and what it’s like to be a candidate at such a young age.
Aaron Kelly (Sinn Féin)
Aaron Kelly from Graiguecullen is a first-time candidate, running for Sinn Féin, in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District. He explains how he came to join the party, his involvement in various Sinn Féin events and how he made the decision to run on this occasion.
He outlines how housing and the cost of living are the two main issues as well as the lack of public services in the smaller towns and villages.
PJ Kelly (Fine Gael)
PJ Kelly is a sitting Fine Gael councillor in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District – but this is his first election to contest as he was co-opted to fill the vacancy following the retirement of Tom Mulhall.
From Belgrove, Ballybrittas, he talks about how he was campaign manager for Tom Mulhall’s three elections, how he was interested in politics from a very young age and his various community involvement, including being chairman of Courtwood GAA club at 20 years of age.
Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil)
Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil)Having grown up in Timahoe but lived in Stradbally for a lot of his adult life, Paschal McEvoy has had a strong based in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District since he was first elected in 2014.
He discusses his working career in the Irish Prison Service and later in Portlaoise Hospital, his role as a councillor and a particularly big project he would like to see progress on in Stradbally.
Aisling Moran (Independent)
Aisling Moran is a sitting county councillor, running as an Independent on this occasion, having been elected for Fine Gael in 2019. She discusses why she left Fine Gael and her early memories working with her father who was a councillor for 28 years.
She explains why she loves the job, how she enjoys helping people and the importance of accountability and transparency in public life.
Vivienne Phelan (Fine Gael)
Vivienne Phelan from Stradbally is running for Fine Gael in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District and is hoping to make up for the disappointment of missing out on her first attempt in 2019.
A vet by profession, she chats about her introduction to politics, growing up in a family shop, the challenges facing the area and what she’d like to see done in the next term of Laois County Council.
The following candidates opted not to take part or did not respond to the LaoisToday invitation to be featured: Patsy Fennelly (Independent Ireland), Joey Kennedy (Fianna Fáil), Aidan Mullins (Sinn Féin).
SEE ALSO – Check out all our 2024 Local Election coverage here
SEE ALSO – Local Election Podcasts: 10 minutes with the candidates in the Borris-in-Ossory/Municipal District
