Fears have been expressed that the town of Ballinasloe – and East Galway in general – will pay a heavy price for a lack of political representation, following the failure of the main parties to select a candidate to stand in the area for the upcoming general election.

The latest blow came when Senator Aisling Dolan failed in her bid to get on the FG ticket as she lost out by a mere ten votes at the party convention last weekend in Roscommon.

Ballinasloe is part of the Roscommon/Galway constituency and it is now felt that the town will suffer from an investment perspective due to the lack of political representation at national level.

What was even more concerning for the local business community is the fact that even some delegates at the Galway end of the constituency did not throw their weight behind Senator Dolan, favouring Cllr John Naughten, brother of retiring TD Denis Naughten, instead.

Seamus Duffy, Chairman of Ballinasloe Area Community Development (BACD) described as ‘an opportunity lost’ by not selecting Senator Dolan to stand for FG. As it stands, there is no candidate in the Galway end of the constituency.

“There was a once in a lifetime chance to have a TD representing Ballinasloe and the southern end of the constituency. But the members of the party chose not to, which is very disappointing,” he said.

“We are trying to bring in investment, we are trying to get more houses built to accommodate young couples returning to the town and we are trying to create more employment in Ballinasloe but political representation at the highest level is required,” added Mr Duffy.

Following a recommendation from party headquarters, delegates at the Fine Gael selection convention for Roscommon/Galway have selected two candidates to contest the general election.

Cllr Naughten defeated Ballinasloe-based Senator Dolan by 123 votes to 113 in a head-to-head contest following the withdrawal of Creagh-based Cllr Alan Harney.

The other FG candidate is Dympna Daly-Finn, an automatic choice given that she is based in the North Roscommon area of Arigna and was narrowly defeated for a council seat in the Boyle area in the summer local elections.

Mr Duffy said that Senator Dolan had put Ballinasloe on the map since being appointed to the Seanad in 2020. She had been elected to Galway County Council as an independent member in 2019 and joined Fine Gael the same year.

She contested the general election in 2020 in the three-seater Roscommon-Galway constituency and finished fourth.

Meanwhile, in the Roscommon/Galway constituency Ballygar GP Martin Daly has put his name before the upcoming convention to seek a place on the general election ticket for Fianna Fáil.

Dr Daly is a former president of the Irish Medical Organisation and is well regarded for his advocacy to protect rural patients’ access to GP practices. He is a team doctor with Roscommon GAA and he unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate for the Seanad in 2016.

Sitting Senator Eugene Murphy from Strokestown is also in the running for the upcoming selection convention.

But all eyes will be on Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice (Ind) to see which constituency he will opt for. If he decides on Galway East, there is intense speculation that Cllr Declan Geraghty (Ind) in Williamstown may well stand in Roscommon/Galway.

Pictured: Senator Aisling Dolan from Ballinasloe who failed to secure the FG nomination for Roscommon-Galway.