Fianna Fáil make last minute addition to Laois General Election ticket

Finna Fáil HQ has had a change of view of their chance of making a General Election gain in Laois at the expense of former Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley.

The party has lined up former prison officer Austin Stack to contest the November 29 poll along with incumbent TD and Minister of State Seán Fleming. 

Minister Fleming confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that party HQ had confirmed to him that Mr Stack, a former prison officer, would be added to the General Election ticket in the new three-seat constituency.

"It's a volatile political situation in Laois and I always say the Fianna Fáil should be ambitious. I am hoping that we secure a seat and I think we need to be in the fight for the last seat," he said.

Minister Fleming said the news was confirmed to him on November 7, but he added that HQ had recently added candidates to constituency tickets around the country. He said he was unaware if the party had carried out opinion polls or other research that encouraged them to run additional candidates in Laois.

Mr Stack offered himself as a candidate in a letter to Laois Fianna Fáil at a meeting in October. Local members felt that a one-candidate strategy was the best option but nevertheless noted his offer and forwarded it to the party's HQ.

Mr Stack told the Leinster Express / Laois Live at the time that he had offered himself as a candidate but would not go forward if the party was able to select a female candidate.

Contacted by the Leinster Express/ Laois Live about the addition to the ticket, Mr Stack said that he was out of the country but expected the party to make an announcement on Friday, November 8 the day the General Election is to be called. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Sheila Stack wife of the late Chief Officer Brian Stack with the bronze bust after being unveiled at the Prison Service College, Portlaoise by Minister for Justice Equality and Defence Alan Shatter TD. The College was also named in Brian Stack's honour in 2013. Included in picture are Austin, Oliver and Kieran Stack. Picture: Alf Harvey/hrphoto.ie

Mr Stack rose to public prominence nationally in relation in 2013 after he and his brother Oliver met with the then Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and a former IRA commander to discuss the death of his father Brian Stack.

Brian Stack was a chief prison officer in Portlaoise Prison when he the IRA shot him in the back of the neck on 25 March, 1983. Mr Stack was left paralysed and brain-damaged from the shooting and suffered for a further 18 months before dying from his injuries at the age of 47.

Gerry Adams said he accompanied the two brothers to a meeting with a former IRA commander, where the shooting was admitted to. While Mr Adams expressed regret about the killing, Austin Stack has continued his fight for justice as nobody was every prosecuted for his fathers death.

Mr Adams was confronted by Austin Stack at a press conference in 2016 where he accused Mr Adams of lying about his knowledge of the murder of his father and urged him to go to gardaí with the information he has.

The Garda Commissioner wrote to the family in 2023 to apologise for the shortcomings and handling of the case by the Gardaí. A file was sent to the Gardaí in 2019.

Mr Stack was part of big campaign in 2017 to prevent the downgrade of Portlaoise hospital. He has also taken a public interest in the Portlaoise Family Resource Centre.

Mr Stack, who recently retired from the Irish Prison Service, launched a new health and safety consultancy business in 2024.

He spent many years in a senior managerial role in the IPS specialising in health and safety. He has a MSc in Environmental Health and Safety and successfully led a team in the Midlands Prison to achieve ISO 18001 accreditation.

Mr Stack joins a crowded election field where it's expected that just one seat is really up for grabs - the one held by Brian Stanley due to his problems with Sinn Féin.

Dep Fleming is expected to win a seat for Fianna Fáil while Cllr Wille Aird is also favoured to take a seat for Fine Gael on the retirement of Charlie Flanagan.

Apart from Brian Stanley, others in the race include Cllr Aisling Moran, Ind, Maria McCormack, SF, Rosie Palmer, Greens, Mary Hand, Aontú, Elaine Mullally, Ind.