In a major political upset, Labour's veteran TD and chairman of the Parliamentary Party, Mr Michael Bell, has been defeated as the party's Euro candidate for Leinster by a young and relatively unknown challenger.
Mr Sean Butler (26), a sales representative from Ballycallan, Co Kilkenny, astonished Labour Party members and observers yesterday when he won the Leinster constituency selection convention for next year's European Parliament elections by 67 votes to 31.
Mr Butler, an employee of Duggan Steel, has been a party activist for some years and represents Leinster on the National Youth Committee.
He told The Irish Times last night that he had decided of his own volition to seek the nomination and had effected "a major coup" in convincing a majority of delegates to support his nomination. Mr Butler personally canvassed almost 100 delegates in the run-up to the convention.
"I was not asked by the leadership to run. As for TDs and party headquarters, we had nothing to do with them. We toured the constituency and before the convention we thought it was 50-50," Mr Butler said.
In his address to the convention, he had made a "rallying call", saying Labour must stop talking about becoming the second-largest political party in the State and get out and do it.
According to a party spokesman, the Louth TD wished the successful candidate well but expressed disappointment that he had not got the opportunity to pursue a seat in Europe for a third time. Just two months ago Mr Bell made a vigorous defence of his candidacy and saw off a challenge from Mr Peter Cassells, general secretary of ICTU. His relationship with the Labour leadership has been less than warm recently and he incurred the displeasure of Mr Ruairi Quinn when he declared his intention to pursue an Army deafness claim. That decision led to him stepping down as Labour spokesman on defence.
Mr Bell was first elected to the Dail in November 1982 and retained his seat in last year's general election when the party's representation was reduced to 17. He twice attempted, unsuccessfully, to win a seat in the Strasbourg parliament for Leinster, failing on the last occasion by just a few hundred votes.