Three Laois councillors announce backing for Aisling Moran in election

Three independent Laois county councillors have announced that they are backing colleague Cllr Aisling Moran in her bid to be elected as a Laois TD in this month's general election.

Cllr Moran who quit Fine Gael last year, is an elected public representative for the Graiguecullen Portarlington Municipal District.

If elected, she would become the first female TD, and first non-party TD ever in Laois.

The three seat Laois constituency is getting more interesting daily, with Cllr Willie Aird the only Fine Gael candidate, newly independent Deputy Brian Stanley on a solo run, and Sinn Féin now announcing its own new candidate.

See all the Laois election stories here. 

Now in a potential big boost to winning votes, three other independent councillors in Laois have rallied behind her campaign.

They are poll toppers Cllr Ben Brennan, Cllr James Kelly and the newly elected Cllr Tommy Mulligan from Portlaoise. Between them, the four councillors gained around 6000 votes in last summer's local elections.  

All three now say they will publicly endorse, campaign and canvass for their colleague Aisling Moran. 

First elected in 2009, Cllr Ben Brennan topped the poll in the Graiguecullen-Portarlington electoral area in June's Council elections. 

"I feel Aisling has the ability to put the county on its feet, she's an incredibly hard worker and asks the right questions. She puts the people and the public interest ahead of politics. We have TDs, Junior Ministers and Ministers and they haven't delivered for our community," Cllr Brennan said.

Cllr James Kelly from the Borris-in-Ossory-Mountmellick Municipal District was equally emphatic in his endorsement. 

"Aisling is exactly the kind of TD we need here in Laois. She's articulate and outspoken and one of the most hard-working representatives. There have been attempts to undermine her on the Council, but she now enjoys the support of the independent group on the local authority. She's a strong voice for accountability, challenging the waste of public money and it's high time we had an Independent TD here in Laois," he said.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan, public representative in the Portlaoise Municipal District, gave his reasons for backing Cllr Moran.

"I am supporting Aisling Moran as I believe she is an excellent candidate. She is a woman of great integrity and will be a strong advocate for all of Laois when, hopefully, she’s elected to Leinster House. We need a fresh voice to represent the county and Aisling is the perfect contender, trustworthy and honourable," said Cllr Mulligan.

They held a campaign strategy meeting in Cllr Moran's home in over the weekend.

Cllr Moran said she is delighted and buoyed by the ringing endorsements and early show of support for her campaign.

"I am extremely grateful for the backing of my fellow independent councillors, Ben, James and Tommy, who all have such a strong support and voter base in their own right. This is no solo run, or whim, we're in this campaign to win. Laois is no longer a foregone conclusion, it's game on," she said.

Cllr Aisling Moran's official campaign launch takes place this Saturday, November 9 in Christy Farrell's Pub, Killeen from 8pm. All supporters are welcome.

Cllr Moran is daughter of the late John Moran, a stalwart Fine Gael councillor for 28 years, who seat she won after his retirement. She owns the family travel agency Polari Travel in Athy with her wife Fiona, and they have three children, Charlie (23) Alex (21) Millie (17). 

"I have been involved in politics from a very young age. My Dad, John Moran, was a Fine Gael Councillor in Laois for 28 years and I suppose my love of politics came from him, equally my love of travel. He retired in May 2019 and then I had the opportunity to fulfil my love of helping people and asking the questions I felt needed asking and decided to run in
the Local Elections for the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District as a Fine Gael candidate.
 
"My reason for running for election was my desire to help people that were not being heard. People that maybe didn’t have the confidence to speak up for themselves and for those that were speaking up, but just were not listened to. I have a voice and I was going to use it.
 
"In 2019 as a fine Gael candidate, I got elected on the seventh count with 1398 votes. I remained in FG for the next four years, but felt I had to leave the party due to consistent lack of support from party colleagues when asking questions to the council about public spending and looking for costings of projects which involved the spending of taxpayers’ money.

"I left FG and became an independent councillor, where I felt I could continue the work I got elected to do. I got into politics to work for the public and not for a party or Laois County Council.

"In the 2024 elections this summer, as an independent candidate, I increased my first preference vote by 247 votes and elected with 1633 votes. I now sit on the Technical Group in Laois County Council."