Mayo town facing up to stark prospect of being left without its own TD

But will Christy Hyland throw a proverbial cat among the pigeons?

The enterprising town of Westport is facing the stark prospect of being left without its own local TD for the first time since 1994.

With long-serving TD and former Minister Michael Ring due to retire ahead of the next general election, which is widely expected to take place to late October or early November, the absence of 'an heir apparent' is increasingly becoming a source of public debate in the town.

Many locals are convinced that the massive growth of the community over the past number of decades is directly linked to having strong elected representation in Dáil Éireann, helping to provide a level of confidence that encouraged investment.

There are those who acutely remember the period from 1982, when the late Myles Staunton (FG) lost his seat in Leinster House, and 1992 when Westport was devoid of the influence of a TD, albeit the aforementioned serving as a senator from 1989 and 1993.

It galvanised the community to get behind local solicitor and urban councillor Seamus Hughes (FF) in claiming back a seat of political power for the town in 1992 and he served until 1997. Sadly, both Seamus and Myles have since passed to their eternal reward.

Westport had the distinction of being served by two TDs from 1994 to 1997, Michael Ring having joined Seamus Hughes in office after winning the Mayo West by-election in 1994, the vacancy created by the appointment of Castlebar-based government minister, Padraig Flynn, as a EU Commissioner.

It was one of the biggest upsets in the history of Mayo politics and few realised at the time what an impact Ring was destined to make over the course of his career and particularly so as a representative who knew the value of supporting his home communities and parishes which elected him.

Now, as the general election approaches, Westport people who were so accustomed to giving their No. 1 vote to Ring over the past 30 years simply don't know who they are going to vote for now.

As of now the options are limited.

Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Brendan Mulroy is seeking a nomination to run at the party's selection convention early next month.

But even if he wins strong support from the delegates, there is no guarantee he will be on the ticket as party HQ appears to be leaning towards a two-candidate strategy consisting of Minister of State Dara Calleary and Senator Lisa Chambers.

The Westport Fine Gael party is also looking at options and it does not appear that former Mayo GAA star Lee Keegan is interested while local Councillor Peter Flynn is definitely not.

Keira Keogh, who stood as a candidate in the local elections and would be strongly endorsed by Deputy Ring, will contest the Fine Gael selection convention on September 15.

There is also word on the ground that Christy Hyland, the independent representative who lost his county council seat in last June's local elections, is being widely encouraged to declare his intentions and he is understood to be giving the matter serious consideration.

That, as they say, would throw a cat among the pigeons!