Huge Portlaoise local elections field but the battle could end in Laois scrap for just a few seats

The Portlaoise Municipal District is the odd one out in local politics in Laois and the reason for this has likely given rise to the electoral area attracting the largest number of candidates.

Unlike the other two districts, the big urban area of Portlaoise overshadows the rest of the area.

Most of those likely to win seats are based in Portlaoise, few of the town candidates will venture out of the town on their canvas.

The district is arguably more democratic than the other parts of the county because the town, being the area where the population is concentrated, returns most of the seven councillors. At the same time candidates will be returned to represent the Abbeyleix, Ballinakill, Ballyroan areas.

Against this backdrop, there will be predictable and unpredictable outcomes when the dust settles after polling day on June 7.

Let's deal with the predictable first - some candidates will likely hate reading this. Irish politicians have traditionally loved nothing more than to be written off by the media.

Willie Aird has served for decades and comes from a political dynasty in the town. A Fine Gael man, he can nevertheless cross the political divide in his ability to win votes because of his strong Portlaoise identity. He has and added advantage of being a farmer who wears his farming credentials proudly. A polltopper last time he could repeat the feat this year.

Another candidate at the head of the field is John Joe Fennelly.

Based in Abbeyleix he is Fianna Fáil's biggest vote getter in the district who concentrates his efforts on the rural part of the county. His achievement is the more remarkable given that he only transferred into the Portlaoise area in 2014. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Willie Aird with supporters after the 2019 election. Picture: Alf Harvey

Next most likely to be returned is Caroline Dwane Stanley. The Sinn Féin wife of Brian Stanley TD has had an impressive electoral record since entering politics. However, the size of her vote depends a lot on the Sinn Féin vote management strategy. Her party is bent on making gains in local politics and Portlaoise will be the acid test in Laois. The town is also the homebase of the party's TD and Laois Offaly poll topper Brian Stanley.

Another incumbent is Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald of Fianna Fáil. Her best electoral outing in two decades of undefeated campaigns came in 2019 when her first preference vote exceeded 1,000 votes. Her party is running just three candidates this time so there'll be no excuse if she can't poll well again. Cllr Fitzgerald came very close to losing her seat in the past but she has always had the ability to find a way to win.

It is after these favourites are elected that the race gets tighter in part due to the fact that some of the sitting councillors have never faced the electorate previously.

Barry Walsh, Fine Gael, and Marie Tuohy, Labour, were co-opted onto the council since 2019.

Cllr Walsh took over from the popular Mary Sweeney who was also based in Ballyroan. Ms Sweeney relied on the Ballyroan vote to backbone her election and Cllr Walsh will have to find a way to do the same. It's not going to be an easy task who will be trying to retain one of three Fine Gael seats in Portlaoise. The Ballyroan base is the key to his campaign being a success or failure.

Cllr Tuohy took over from her husband Noel who stepped aside for health reasons. He defied the odds to win twice for Labour in Portlaoise. Since taking over from her husband, Cllr Tuohy has applied herself in a quiet but effective way to politics. However, politics is brutal, especially at election time so the Labour woman's electoral skill and mettle will be tested severely by several other eager candidates.

It's a very high stakes election for the seventh incumbent, Cllr Thomasina Connell of Fine Gael. A potential replacement for Charlie Flanagan in the Dáil, the solicitor knows she must get elected in June to be considered for a Dáil run next year. However, she was the last candidate returned in 2019 when she secured just over 400 number one votes. Five years on the council should mean she does better this time around but she is not a safe bet. However, she is a sitting councillor and has had five years to lay the foundations to be re-elected.

So what about those hoping to take seats from incumbents?

Well for a start there are plenty and independents are to the fore with Sinn Féin also trying to make inroads.

Jason Phelan is focused on Abbeyleix and its hinterland as a Sinn Féin candidate. An election novice, he could have a chance on a very good day for Sinn Féin but the opinion polls aren't pointing in that direction.

It's likely that Sinn Féin see Maria McCormack as a serious hope for a seat. Living in Fieldbrook Portlaoise and having Ballyroan links puts her in a strategically strong position to secure town and country votes. To succeed Sinn Féin will have to operate a disciplined vote sharing operation in the town.

There are three former Fianna Fáil members in the field who would love to prove a point to the party HQ.

Pauline Flanagan is a former Fianna Fáil councillor and candidate at both local and General Elections. She fell out with the party over the 2024 selection process. She will have to make up a lot of ground on her 2019 showing but has invested a lot of time in community groups to show she is committed to serving the public.

Donal Kelly also left Fianna Fáil over the 2024 selection despite being chosen as a 'local area representative' in 2023. He contested for Fianna Fáil in 2019 but was eliminated on the 13 count.

Also in the mix is Dominic Dunne who left Fianna Fáil in 2019 in another selection row. He ran unsuccessfully for Renua that year and was the closest to Cllr Connell for the final seat.

Mr Dunne could be the best placed of the three to go one better this time.

The selection by Fianna Fáil HQ of Naeem Iqbal was what caused all the friction this time out. He ran as an independent in 2019 and secured enough votes to put him in the hunt for the seventh seat. A good showing on the first count this time makes him a serious contender if Fianna Fáil votes transfer back to him.

There are other contenders where making predictions on their showing is precariously perilous.

The Green Party candidate Rosie Palmer works with Minister Pippa Hackett and is based in Ballinakill where she is active in the community. This will secure votes and there could also be Green votes in the town. It is hard to see that there will be enough to make her a serious contender.

Aontú improved in the polls after the referenda and Portlaoise nurse Martha Ryan is its candidate. However, it's not clear that the referenda profile for Aontú will translate into local politics so the pressure is on Ms Ryan to deliver.

Ireland's newest party, Independent Ireland is having a tilt at Portlaoise in the shape of Collette Byrne, a winner at the national People of the Year Award. It's her first attempt in electoral politics but making the breakthrough could be a stretch.

Former prison officer Noel Burke is new to politics and the Abbeyleix man will have his work cut out with Cllr Fennelly running.

A dark horse in the field is Portlaoise native and independent Tommy Mulligan. Strongly connected to Portlaoise GAA, Mr Mulligan is known to have attended council meetings ahead of the poll to improve his knowledge of what councillors do and how the council functions.

Bolaji Adeyanju is also running without party support aiming to emulate the achievement of Rotimi Adebari. Number one votes will be vital but getting enough will be a challenge. Despite his activism locally, he is another outsider.

John Cowhig was the last candidate to enter the race to be a Laois County Councillor. He has been to the forefront of community issues in Kilminchy since the estate was built during the Celtic Tiger.

The independent has also challenged Laois County Council on several occasions.

Regardless of the outcome, the big number of candidates shows there are plenty of election issues and ambitions in Portlaoise.