The Independent Ireland TD, Michael Fitzmaurice, has today (Thursday, November 7) declared his intention to seek re-election in the Roscommon-Galway constituency.
Deputy Fitzmaurice, who secured his Dáil seat in the 2014 Roscommon-South Leitrim by-election, highlighted his “loyalty to Roscommon and Galway communities and his resolve to deliver for rural Ireland” today.
The TD said that it could have been an option for him to “take the easier path” and stand in Galway East but he said he was opting for the “tougher road”.
Deputy Fitzmaurice said: “I’m not running from a challenge. I’m standing by the people who stood by me over the past ten years.
“From Roscommon to Galway, and South Leitrim before that, the support I’ve received has been nothing short of humbling. I have worked hard to deliver for these communities and will continue to do so, whatever the result.”
Fitzmaurice
According to Deputy Fitzmaurice his “roots go deep into the soil of Ireland” and he is “fully acquainted with the difficulties and obstacles faced by small farmers everywhere” as a result of being “born into a small farm in the parish of Glinsk, Creggs on the Roscommon, Galway border.”
He confirmed his decision to join the Independent Ireland party – set up by Independent TDs Michael Collins (Cork south west) and Richard O’Donoghue (Limerick County) – earlier this year in February.
At the time Deputy Fitzmaurice said that he had “spent the last 12 months weighing up the landscape. I was going to set up a party or leave politics”.
Separately Independent Ireland has confirmed that Councillor Declan Geraghty will run for the party in Galway East.
Independent Ireland said Cllr Geraghty is a “Williamstown native with deep business roots across Co. Galway” and that his “local connections and understanding of Galway East’s challenges make him an ideal candidate to represent the constituency’s diverse needs”.