Battle lines drawn as election fever grips Longford

Longford's voting public look set to play a central role in the outcome of next month's general election if the events of the past five days are anything to go by.

The leaders of the two main government parties, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his opposite number Fianna Fáil supremo Micheal Martin undertook visits to the county, signifying the political weight both parties are placing on maximising their final seat return ahead of the election to fill seats to the 33rd Dáil.

The pair were anxious to laud the credentials of both their party flagbearers with Mr Varadkar and Mr Martin conceding the tight nature of the battle between messrs Carrigy and Flaherty left the country's two largest parties in with “a chance” of winning a seat locally.

At present, 16 candidates are in the mix, all vying for the chance to secure one of the constituency's four seats on February 8.

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