Smith enters race for fianna fil nomination

Friends and supporters turned out in their numbers last week to support Cllr Michael Smith, who is seeking the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the next general election. 
Mr Paddy Cody, Chairman of Roscrea-Templemore Comhairle Cheantair, said that it was a privilege for him to nominate the young councillor to go forward for selection.
“Michael has,” he said, “an outstanding Fianna Fáil pedigree. His grandfather Bill Smyth, like my own father, was a founding member and was recruited together with Mick Ryan Fennor by Séan Lemass to organise the newly formed party in 1926. Michael’s father, the former minister, served as a public representative for over 40 years and was elected to the Houses of the Oireachtas on 10 occasions.”
Cllr Smith has earned his own stripes having succeeded in obtaining a substantial increase in his first preference votes in each consecutive election. He received the highest votes in Tipperary in 2014 and one of the highest urban votes in the whole of Ireland in his home town of Roscrea - 52%.
Mr James Marks, PRO, stated: “Michael’s work rate was truly astonishing and his ability to solve problems for the people was first rate. He has been able to pull support from across the political divide and beyond.”
Cllr Smith told the gathering that he was proud to contest the forthcoming Fianna Fáil convention. He said he was humbled by the tributes paid to him and all he ever wanted was to serve the people to the best of his ability. 
“Fianna Fáil,” he said, “is an open liberal, democratic and republican party and has a unique role to play in the context of the many problems facing the people of the country. The over-centralised system promoted and adopted by the government has paralysed the initiative and proved to be insensitive to the real needs of the people. We were told it would be Labour’s way, not Frankfurt’s way; promise after promise was broken.
“Fianna Fáil has an opportunity now to spell out reforms at government and local level, which will be more open and transparent and give back control to where it is best organised in the interests of the people. Having served as a public representative for the past 11 years, I believe I have the experience, commitment and youthful energy to serve the party in good stead.
“Much of my success has been gained by organising cooperative groups to carry out various projects in their areas. Uniting diverse groups of people in the pursuant of a common goal has enabled me to unearth and motivate talent previously dormant.
“We must now band together and unite our party members all over the county,” Cllr Smith said. “We must explore every possible avenue in our determination to ensure that Fianna Fáil is never again without representation in this constituency of Tipperary.”