Constituency: Galway West

James Charity (32) was elected as an Independent to Galway County council on his first attempt in 2014. A barrister by profession, the one-time farmer was one of the early candidates announced by Renua Ireland before he left the party over its decision to support water charges. Cllr Charity’s election campaign concentrates on regional development in Galway and Mayo, and cities improved health and mental health policy, rural rejuvenation, education, and political reform as among his priorities if elected to Dáil Eireann.

First elected as a Labour councillor in 1999, Catherine Connolly will be contesting the general election as an Independent. A practising barrister, she has unsuccessfully tried twice to secure a seat in Dáil Eireann in the past nine years. A former Galway City mayor, Cllr Connolly resigned from the Labour Party in 2006 when she was not allowed to be the running-mate of now President Michael D. Higgins She has in the past campaigned on a platform for smaller class sizes and no third level fees. Originally from Shantalla, she has lived in the Claddagh since 1988 and is married with two children.

Long time Fianna Fáil member and former Galway city councillor John Connolly (36) is facing his first general election this year. The schoolteacher based in the Bearna area was elected to Galway City Council in 2004 but lost his seat in 2009. The fluent Irish speaker is involved with a number of local community groups, and believes the next Government needs to focus on finding solutions to the growing number of families facing homelessness. If elected, Mr Connolly also plans to put increased pressure on the Department of Health to begin construction of the new psychiatric unit at University Hospital Galway which was greenlight in 2011.

Mike Cubbard (30) is an Independent Galway City Councillor. Housing, mental health, Irish Water, and austerity measures are some of the issues he plans to address if elected. The Insurance worker ran unsuccessfully in the 2009 local elections, as well as the 2011 general election, before being elected as a Galway city councillor in 2014. Locally he has campaigned against the water charges.

A first time election candidate, Nicola Daveron is a Salthill-based solicitor. She has a special interest in mortgage arrears cases and lists rural and urban crime among her chief concerns. She has previously worked in teaching and the fashion industry. Ms Daveron is the only candidate Renua Ireland are fielding in Galway.

A former employee of Aer Lingus, now retired, Patrick Feeney is a first time general election candidate. Running as an Independent, he believes a strong non-partisan voice is needed to ensure that Galway is not left behind as the country recovers.

Noel Grealish has been elected as a TD at every asking since contesting the 2002 General Election. He was also the last leader of the Progressive Democrats before the party was disbanded in 2009. He is an Independent TD for Galway-West and is from the Gaeltacht region of Carnmore, near Galway city.

Fidelma Healy Eames served three years on Galway County Council before she was elected as a Senator Fine Gael in 2007. The now Independent lost the party whip in 2013 after refusing to vote for the Protection of Life During Pregnancy legislation. This will be her fourth attempt at gaining a seat in Dáil Eireann, having failed to do so in the last three general elections (2002, 2007, and 2011). In the 2011 general election, she received 8.3 pc of the first preference votes cast in Galway West. Prior to her split with Fine Gael, she served as the party’s Seanad spokesperson on a number of topics, including Education and Social Protection.

A Galway County Councillor since 1999, Mary Hoade is a former mayor for the county. Having unsuccessfully contested Seanad elections in 2002 and 2007, this is her first time running in a general election. A native of Headford, the Fianna Fáil candidate met with Prince Charles during his state visit to NUI Galway. Ms Hoade cities crime as a concern, and believes that the closure of rural Garda stations has left many communities vulnerable to organised crime gangs.

Self-employed painter Tommy Holohan New York Marathon (63) is running for Dáil Eireann as a candidate for the Anti Austerity Alliance. This is his first time running in a general election, though he ran unsuccessfully in the 2014 local elections for Galway City Council. A committed activist in his community, Mr Holohan lists social housing, water charges, and the abolishment of Irish Water as his priorities. He has run the New York Marathon almost 20 times to raise money for good causes.

Sean Kyne was elected for the first time in 2011, having run unsuccessfully as a Fine Gael candidate in Galway-West in 2007. From 2004 to 2011, Mr Kyne served as a member of Galway County Council for the Connemara Electoral Area. He has both a degree and Master's degree in Agricultural Science from NUI Galway and UCD respectively. Since becoming a TD Mr Kyne has served on several Fine Gael and two Joint Oireachtas committees. The Joint Oireachtas Committee’s he has been on relate to Jobs, Social Protection and Education, as well as European Union Affairs.

Senator Hildegarde Naughton (38) ran unsuccessfully in the 2011 general election before she was appointed to the Seanad by the Taoiseach in 2013. Prior to this, she served on Galway County Council for two years, during which she was mayor of County Galway. A former primary school teacher, she helped to raise €300,000 for local charities in 'People In Need' telethon in 2007.

Derek Nolan is a Labour TD in the Galway-West constituency. He was second in the poll in the 2011 general election filling the seat formerly held by current President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins. His first role in public life came when won a seat on Galway City Council in June 2009, aged 26. He was a trainee solicitor when he contested the last general election having joined the Labour Party when he was 19 whilst studying in NUI Galway.

Elected to the Seanad in 2011 for Sinn Féin, Trevor O’Clochartaigh (47) unsuccessfully contested the local elections in Galway in 2004 for Labour. Following this he left the party and, after joining Sinn Féin, again unsuccessfully contested the 2009 local election and 2011 general election. He is the Sinn Féin spokesperson for the Irish language and Gaeltacht affairs, rural development and the west.

Eamon O’Cuiv topped the poll in Galway-West constituency in 2011. The Fianna Fail man has been a TD since 1992 and was formerly Deputy Party leader until resigning the position in 2012. Mr O’Cuiv and his wife Áine Ní Choincheannain have three sons and a daughter. He has had several ministerial portfolios in this time, including Minister for State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Minister for Social Protection. He was briefly Minister for Defence and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government alongside the Ministry for Social Protection portfolio in early 2011. He unsuccessfully contested the leadership of Fianna Fáil after the resignation of Brian Cowen, but lost to Micheál Martin.

John O'Mahony was moved into the Galway-West constituency because of boundary changes, having been elected in Mayo in 2011. A GAA man through and through, he has managed Galway, Leitrim and Mayo – leading Galway to two all Ireland Victories in 1998 and 2001. He was elected a TD the first time in 2007 and was party Deputy spokesperson for FIne Gael with special responsibility for Sport from October 2007 to March 2011.

Niall O’Tuathaill (30) is the Social Democrats candidate for Galway West. A graduate of Trinity College, he has worked on successful general election campaigns in 2011 and 2014. He also ran the Yes Equality campaign in Galway in the 2015 Marriage Equality referendum. Mr Ó Tuathail runs a software business in Galway City, where he lives with his partner and their young son. His focus while in officer will be on fixing the healthcare system and solving the housing crisis.

Connemara-based silversmith and jeweller Ruairí O’Neill (57) is running as a first-time candidate for Direct Democracy Ireland. He is running on a platform calling for job creation in the west of Ireland, and advocates his party's policy of elected officials being directly answerable, via recall ballots, to their constituents.

Independent hopeful Tommy Roddy’s bid for the Galway West constituency will be his second attempt at a general election run. A teacher by trade, the 51-year-old is running on a pro-life platform and says that protecting the Eighth Amendment will be his top priority while in office. Mr Roddy is involved with a number of community groups in Galway and is a strong proponent of mental health and suicide prevention services.

Green Party candidate Seamus Sheridan missed out on a seat on Galway City Council in 2014 despite getting 7.5 first preference votes in Galway City Central. A local businessman and founding member of Slow Food Ireland, he is the Green Party’s spokesperson on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.