FG TD's Wife Goes Indy?

Anne Breen, the wife of Clare TD Pat Breen, is reportedly running in the local elections as an independent. Check out the front page of the Clare Champion (hint: it's in the middle of the puff piece headlined 'hospital campaigner joins election race). 

Strange stuff: a domestic squabble, a selection convention dispute, or something slightly stranger? You'll know when I do.

Update: it seems a simple case of over-represenation: the would-be Cllr. Anne Breen seemingly found little room on a ticket with sitting cllr. Oliver Garry and former party big beast Madeleine Taylor-Quinn. Embarking on a political solo run, however, may not be the best thing for Pat Breen - unless, of course she wins. In that case, all will be forgiven.

Update 2: A poster on politics.ie claims that Anne and Pat Breen are in fact estranged - which makes the situation even more delicate...

Would-be FG Councillor Backs Down

So a squalid little saga - which featured local election hopeful Naja Regan taking her own party (FG) to the High Court - has been resolved. In a brief recap, Naja Regan (daughter of high profile Senator Eugene Regan) was miffed when the powers that be stymied her efforts to get on the local election ticket in the Dun Laoghaire Ward, instead decreeing that the party's three sitting councillors should go forward. (Fine Gael's HQ may have been particularly heavy-handed because Regan's Monkstown Branch contains almost 200 members, who seem to turn out for selection conventions - and little else - with remarkable enthusiasm.)


So, Naja did the natural thing for a young law graduate: sued their asses off. Well, not quite. The case was due to be heard today but, this afternoon, the following statement went out from the Party's press office:

The matter regarding Naja Regan and Fine Gael Executive Council has been resolved. The Fine Gael Executive Council will now ratify the three candidates as selected by Convention to contest the upcoming local election forthwith in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.


Suffice to say I'll be toddling along to the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown's AGM tonight to see what gives.

*UPDATE: Very little by way of fireworks on this issue tonight (is it just me or are all local party get-togethers really tedious?) but a few oblique references from the politicians. One nutter on the floor laid into the Dun Laoghaire councillors and said he won't vote for the party this year, but was slapped down (in an oratorical sense) by veteran councillor Dónal Marren. Then Naja stood up, said she supported the councillors in their bid for re-election, and sat down to huge applause. Altogether much too dignified for my tastes - a bit of digging is in order to see what made Team Regan back down.