Cork North Central dispute:Fianna Fáil's challenge to retain its two seats in Cork North Central became more complicated yesterday when a sitting Fianna Fáil councillor resigned from the party and announced that he is to run in the general election as an Independent.
Cllr Dave McCarthy from Blarney Road near Hollyhill had sought to be added to the ticket with sitting TDs, Noel O'Flynn and Billy Kelleher back at the party convention in 2005, but withdrew when he failed to get a cumman to nominate him.
Yesterday, however, Mr McCarthy (62), who is a former lord mayor of Cork, confirmed that he has resigned from Fianna Fáil and will run in the general election as an Independent community candidate.
Mr McCarthy, who was part of retiring TD Danny Wallace's campaign team, had hoped to replace Mr Wallace on the ticket, but Fianna Fáil strategists decided that a two-candidate ticket was wiser given that the constituency has been reduced from a five-seater to a four-seater.
"I'm going for a seat for the people of the northside of Cork city. I'm not going out to knock anybody, I don't care who votes for me - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Féin, Socialists or the Workers Party," Mr McCarthy told Cork's 96FM yesterday.
Mr McCarthy should poll well around his home area of Hollyhill and Knocknaheeny where he is very active in the community and where he holds regular constituency clinics.
Mr McCarthy won some 1,114 votes in the 2004 local elections and while he may well double this vote in the forthcoming election at the expense of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin's Cllr Jonathan O'Brien, most pundits expect his votes to return to Fianna Fáil and Mr O'Brien.
