Longford Local Elections 2024: Upholding the proud Farrell tradition

Cllr Gerald Farrell threw the cat among the pigeons in Ballymahon Municipal District when he announced that he was running as an independent.

Late last year, he announced that he was not running as a Fine Gael candidate.

At a subsequent selection convention, his sister, Lorraine, was defeated by Martin Skelly and when the party didn’t add her to the ticket, Cllr Farrell, decided to leave the FG party and stand as an independent candidate.

The Farrell family had six decades of service as councillors in Co Longford, under the Fine Gael banner.

Cllr Farrell decided to go it alone. “I'm a councillor for 10 years. I work for any person that wants me to do anything. I work for the local community and the local people, like my father before me,” he said.

“It's going to be a difficult fight for everybody. There are quite a number of candidates in the field now. I've done a lot of good work in this area here. I've a good relationship with my colleagues in Longford County Council. Lanesboro needs a strong representative,” Cllr Farrell added.

At the last meeting of Longford County Council, he called for greater urgency in relation to the derelict power station and the redevelopment of the Mount Dillon site. He says a vote for him is a vote for experience, common sense and hard work.