Sinn Féin has selected Joe Lynch, the party’s ex-press officer, to team up with incumbant TD Thomas Gould in a campaign to secure two seats in the Cork North Central constituency, an area which has recently been expanded from four to five seats. Mr. Lynch, a Ballincollig native, joined the Cork City Council in June’s local elections and is seen as a crucial player in Sinn Féin’s strategy to obtain an additional seat. This year, his home of Ballincollig, with 20,000 registered voters, moved its allegiance from Cork North West to Cork North Central following boundary amendments.
TD Gould, a Northside Cork city citizen from Gurranebraher, is expected to leverage his local reputation well in the polls. The newly expanded electoral boundary now includes North Cork’s Mallow, bringing an extra 14,000 votes from Cork East to boost the alignments in Cork North Central, creating a five-seat stronghold.
Mr. Lynch, aged 35 and a father, announced he is proud to represent Sinn Féin in the new electoral areas, which, in his view, are in need of Dáil representation. He expressed his beloved Ballincollig has been devoid of its own TD for a considerable length of time. After over a decade serving at Leinster House, he feels poised to make a difference.
Similarly, Mr. Gould, a 15-year-long public servant who resides in Gurranebraher, Cork’s northside core, and originally from Knocknaheeny was happy about Mr. Lynch’s addition to the party’s ticket. Placing his faith in their election campaign, Mr. Gould revealed two primary concerns for the party: housing and pure water supply among others. He optimistically sees the forthcoming general election as a potential catalyst for considerable changes in tackling prevailing public issues.