Former Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter, one of the party's many heavyweight TDs beaten in the 2002 general election, is to seek a nomination to run again.
Mr Shatter was one of three Fine Gael members, along with TD Olivia Mitchell and Cllr Jim O'Leary, to lodge nomination papers on Friday for the Dublin South constituency.
The constituency convention will take place on October 10th, though the party's national executive is expected to decide on Tuesday whether it should run two or three candidates in the highly volatile, heavily middle-class constituency.
Mr Shatter, who was elected alongside Ms Mitchell in 1997, lost out in 2002 when his vote nearly halved.
Cllr O'Leary was elected for the Dundrum ward of Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council in 2004 after he received 1,850 first preference votes.
Last night, Mr Shatter told The Irish Times: "I believe that I still have a contribution to make. I would like the opportunity to once again represent Dublin South."
The solicitor said he had taken "a three-year break" from politics after his 2002 defeat, but that he had become involved again in recent weeks.
"I deliberately took myself out of politics for a while. I had been involved for 25 years, since I was 26. But I want to get back to making a contribution. My family is very supportive, even if on occasion they doubt my sanity," said Mr Shatter.
His desire to seek a Dáil nomination, though far from being a complete surprise, will be seen as further evidence of Fine Gael's growing confidence. In 2002, Fine Gael won just three Dáil seats in Dublin.