Deidre de Burca officially selected as Dublin Euro candidate

[David Cochrane]

The Green Party has selected Senator Deirdre de Burca to represent the Green Party in the European Elections next year. Senator de Burca will stand in the Dublin constituency, a seat previously held for two consecutive terms by the Greens. A selection convention to officially select Senator de Burca was held in Liberty Hall today. Green Party members living in Dublin also voted on two replacement candidates, Roderic O'Gorman and David Gearey.

Senator de Burca said: "I am delighted to have been chosen to represent the Green Party in the European elections next year. The Greens have a real chance of regaining an MEP for Dublin. We held this seat from 1994 to 2004 and I am looking forward to an exciting and challenging election campaign.

"The EU has shown excellent leadership on issues close to Green Party hearts such as human rights and environmental protection and has shown itself to be an international leader on climate change. The Greens in Europe have been at the centre of this movement. I feel it is important that the Irish Green Party is part of the progressive politics that are happening now at an EU level.

"The aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty has opened a fresh debate on Europe. The Irish people are really thinking about what direction they would like the EU to take them in. I believe voters are looking for an active and effective MEP who is not afraid to tackle important issues, such as neutrality, democracy and energy security. I believe that I would be an effective candidate to represent the Irish people in the European Parliament."

The following candidates have been selected as replacement candidates for Deirdre de Burca:

1st replacement: Roderic O'Gorman

Roderic O'Gorman is the Green Party candidate in the Castleknock ward of Fingal County Council. He contested the 2004 local elections in the Castleknock ward, picking up 5.2% of the first preference vote and was the Green Party candidate for Dublin West in last year's General Election. A law graduate of Trinity College and the London School of Economics, he is a course director in Griffith College Dublin, lecturing in EU Law, Constitutional Law and Family Law. He is also undertaking a PhD in Trinity College, looking at European Citizenship and social rights.

2nd replacement: David Gearey

David Gearey is the Green Party local election candidate for the North Inner City ward of Dublin City Council. He is a solicitor who has specialised in European Law for the past nine years. He has worked at law firms in Brussels and Dublin advising on EU law and at the European Commission on the Asylum and Immigration policy and has participated in meetings in the European Commission, Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. He regularly lectures and writes on EU law topics and is currently specialising in EU energy law in the renewable energy sector.

[Catalpa]

Interesting but see here for who one of her political opponents might be next year:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=41011&p=1355614#p1355614

Its going to be a very tight fit in a three seater!

[Big Bruffer]

No chance . She is from Wicklow. Which - Green Party members- is not in Dublin.
Bad Choice ! Dubs will vote for their own.

[thebrom]

No chance . She is from Wicklow. Which - Green Party members- is not in Dublin.
Bad Choice ! Dubs will vote for their own.

You know very little about Deirdre at that rate.

[David Cochrane]

No chance . She is from Wicklow. Which - Green Party members- is not in Dublin.
Bad Choice ! Dubs will vote for their own.

You know very little about Deirdre at that rate.

A rather tedious and arrogant response, if he knows little, chances are a whopping majority of the electorate do too......

.... change the misconceptions, don't just brand them and march off.

[foxrockman]

I think a safe prediction for the 3 Dublin seats is Mitchell, Ryan, Mc Donald . Very hard to imagine a green winning here, actually I would say 100 -1 chance .

[hiker]

Is she Pro or Anti Lisbon?

[baldur0300]

I think a safe prediction for the 3 Dublin seats is Mitchell, Ryan, Mc Donald . Very hard to imagine a green winning here, actually I would say 100 -1 chance .

She has a chance but Labour has to go in as favourites to hold a seat.

As regards deBurca, I do think it is a mistake to select her to run in Dublin, i've said it before. Her base is in Wicklow and people will be very conscious of that fact. It would have been better to blood a candidate and aim to run them in a constituency where they have a chance of a seat in the next GE. There is little chance that de Burca will take a seat so it seems fairly pointless to run someone who already has a profile.

[Shell to Sea]

"The EU has shown excellent leadership on issues close to Green Party hearts such as human rights and environmental protection"

Yeah. Right.

[Leveller on the Liffey]

Is she Pro or Anti Lisbon?

Pro-Lisbon, of course, being a leadership favourite.

What will Patricia do now? Back de Burca? Stand against her? Withdraw gracefully from the scene?