Dalton is delighted to be returned to Longford County Council

Longford County Council's newest elected member has said he is "delighted, honoured and privileged" to be selected by Fine Gael and co-opted to the local authority.

Councillor Colin Dalton replaces Senator Paraic Brady who was elected to the Seanad in February.

The Ballinalee native secured the highest number of votes to defeat his two rivals Cian Brady and Kathleen McGahern at the party's packed selection convention in Colmcille Community Centre in Aughnacliffe on Thursday night.

Over 200 Fine Gael members in the Granard Local Electoral Area voted in the selection convention that was chaired by Senator Gareth Scahill.

Cllr Dalton was proposed by Sean McKeon and seconded by Enda Dalton as a candidate.

It is his second time being co-opted onto Longford County Council after he replaced Micheál Carrigy who was elected to the Seanad in May 2020.

Cllr Dalton said he is thrilled to be back serving local communities.

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“I am delighted, honoured and privileged to be back to work for the people of the Granard Municipal District area.

"I am thanking all of my voters and my supporters and it's a good, healthy sign to see the community centre in Aughnacliffe packed and I am wishing Cian and Kathleen the best of luck.

"I'd like to thank all the Granard Municipal area members for coming out and all the members who supported me and my Ballinalee branch for nominating me," he added.

Cllr Dalton narrowly missed out on winning a seat on Longford County Council in the local election last year after he was pipped at the post by Ballinamuck-based Fianna Fáil's David Cassidy.

"I served four years and I lost out narrowly in the local elections last year.

"I was just unlucky to lose out by four votes and possibly I made mistakes in the local (election) but we went and put it right this time," he added.

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Cllr Dalton, a Sean Connolly's clubman who is a well known figure in Longford GAA circles, continued,

"Now that I am back elected I am looking forward to working with the people of the Granard Municipal area, I'll get started this week and I'm looking forward to getting back in contact with the different community groups.”

Cllr Dalton was co-opted in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and while funding, restart grants and supporting businesses was the primary focus for the first two years then there is scope for a more variety this time.

Speaking a few days after being co-opted, Cllr Dalton stated he had not had enough time to decide on two or three key priorities.

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"My focus will be getting back in and working extremely hard for the people in the municipal area who gave me the mandate and put me back in," he said.

Cllr Dalton stressed that he built up a strong rapport with the youth, the elderly and farmers during his first term as a county councillor.

"Over the past 20 years I have been involved with numerous football and county teams and I would have been working with community groups through my job," he added.

Cllr Dalton defeated Cian Brady, a younger brother of Senator Paraic Brady and an energy consultant and business owner, who was proposed by his brother and seconded by Councillor Gerry Hagan.

He also beat Kathleen McGahern, who was a member of the Longford-Westmeath Education and Training Board and former Secretary of the Community Employment scheme.

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She had been proposed by John McGuire and seconded by Mary Gettings.

Asked what was the most satisfying aspect of being a public representative between 2020 and 2024 Cllr Dalton quickly responded without hesitation.

“The satisfying bit is to deliver funding and to deliver projects and actually to deliver personal stuff too for people and help out people.”