Labour Party select three local election hopefuls

Local Election 2024 preparations are well under way for the Labour Party in Westmeath, who have selected three candidates to run across three electoral areas.

At a convention in the Greville Arms Hotel last Thursday (December 7), the party’s candidate for the Mullingar Local Electoral Area (LEA) was chosen – Fidelma Bennett.

She was selected to run alongside incumbents Cllr Denis Leonard and Cllr Johnnie Penrose, who will be contesting the Kinnegad LEA and Moate LEA respectively.

Speaking at the convention, former Labour Party TD Willie Penrose gave a ‘rallying the troops’ speech on his hopes for the party.

“I’m heartened to see that the Labour Party people here are enthused again, that they haven’t lost that drive,” he said.

“We’ve never lost our soul; we have a very proud tradition as the oldest political party in the state. We’re often down, but we’re never out. We need to keep going, the future of the party is strong and we need more representation on Westmeath County Council.”

Johnnie Penrose

The first candidate selected on the night was Cllr Johnnie Penrose, who has been contesting local elections since 1991 in Westmeath and has held his seat since 2002. “It’s a great honour for me to continue a family tradition going back nearly 40 years now at this stage,” said Cllr Penrose.

The Ballynacargy man said he’s proud of his achievements as an elective representative in his career to date. “The roads around Moate and Ballynacargy have been upgraded over the years and they are now in much better condition than in other rural areas in different counties,” said Cllr Penrose.

“I have also been at the forefront of promoting the Royal Canal Greenway over the years in Westmeath. It’s now a wonderful amenity for the county.”

He added that bringing social homes up to standard and advocating on behalf of rural Ireland has been a priority of his thus far.

Cllr Penrose told the convention of his intentions for the five years following next June’s elections if he returns his seat. “I would like the council to purchase more land for social housing in rural villages,” he said. “At present, there is a drop in rural population and if something doesn’t change there will be very few of us left in these villages across Westmeath.”

Fidelma Bennett

The next candidate selected was Fidelma Bennett in the Mullingar LEA, a daughter of the late Jimmy Bennett, who served on Westmeath County Council for 25 years. Ms Bennett said she was emotional to be selected as a Labour Party candidate in the town, following in her father’s footsteps.

“I’m honoured to accept this nomination and to be able to fly the flag for the Labour Party in Mullingar,” she said. “Mullingar and the whole constituency have a strong Labour Party tradition and we should be proud to be Labour people.

Ms Bennett has been a business owner, a publican, and has previously managed the Teach Fáilte unit. She described herself as a “proud Mullingar woman who knows the town well”, including its difficulties and potentials.

“One of my priorities is the availability of adequate and affordable housing for all, which is a basic necessity in the community,” she said.

“That includes proper planning for developments with appropriate road networks, sewerage, playgrounds, car parks and leisure facilities.”

She promised the convention that she would be an “empathetic, effective and efficient” public representative for Mullingar.

Denis Leonard

The final candidate selected was incumbent Cllr Denis Leonard in the Kinnegad LEA, who was first elected in 2009 and has 10 years’ experience as a public representative. The schoolteacher and politician thanked party colleagues for their help with canvassing in years past.

“The gates have got higher, the dogs have got meaner, and some of the people who were grumpy years ago and even grumpier now,” said Cllr Leonard.

The Kinnegad councillor said rural development, transport and the environment have been his main focus in the council chamber during his tenure.

“I believe in democracy, equality, freedom and human rights. The one party I see in the country who still cares about all of those things is the Labour Party,” he said.

“The National Planning Framework needs to be scrapped, the Greens and everyone else wants to move everyone out of villages and into big towns like Mullingar and Athlone.”

Cllr Leonard said he had in the past worked for “every NGO in the country” before answering his inner call to enter politics.

“The great pastor Jesse Jackson once said ‘If not you, who? If not now, when? If not here, where?’ That’s how I feel here tonight,” he said.