Constituency: Kerry

The West Kerry man his running for the Irish Freedom Party. They cite six key issues of concern including solving the housing crisis and preserving free speech and tackling corruption. He is the son of Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich who is a well-known musician and activist and has been campaigning for years on planning laws. 

Michael Cahill is the county's longest-serving councillor having served for almost 35 years. He followed in the footsteps of his father, the late Tom Cahill, a member of Kerry County Council from 1960 until 1989. This is his first time running for the Fianna Fáil party in a General Election but he has long held ambition to run for the Dáil and was aggrieved he was not selected last time out for the party. He did leave the party for a period before returning to the fold in 2016. During this time, he worked with Independent TD Tom Fleming as a parliamentary assistant. The Rossbeigh man is very vocal on local issues in Kerry.

Deputy Daly grew up in Tralee and was educated at CBS The Green Tralee, UCD, and the Law Society. He qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and worked in the United States before moving back to Ireland. He established his own solicitor’s practice in Rock Street, Tralee, in 2003. He was co-opted to Tralee Town Council in 2012 and was first elected to Kerry County Council in 2014 and was re-elected in 2019. He was selected as the Sinn Féin Dáil candidate for Kerry in August 2019, replacing Martin Ferris TD. At the subsequent election, he was elected on the first count. He is the current justice spokesperson for the party.

Tralee woman Mary Fitzgibbon has put her name forward for the General Election as an Independent candidate. She is a nurse, mid-wife and a full-time lecturer in nursing and health care sciences in MTU.  She is a veteran candidate having ran for several elections most recently for the European Elections in Ireland South.  She is married to Michael and they have five children. In keeping with her concerns for the European Elections she is concerned about immigration. She is also concerned about protecting life and the family.  She has previously ran for Aontú. 

The current Minister for Education has plenty of experience in politics having been first elected in 2004 to Kerry County Council, topping the poll in the local elections in May 2019. She has also served on Tralee Town Council and held the position of Mayor of Tralee on three occasions, most recently in 2017/2018. In February 2020, she took the fifth and final seat in the Kerry constituency. She was appointed as Minister for Education in June 2020 when she became the first Kerry woman to sit at the Cabinet table. Minister Foley is the daughter of the late Denis Foley, who served as a TD for the constituency for 18 years.

Linda Gordon-Kelleher is a native of Killarney and a practising solicitor in the town. A past pupil of the Intermediate School in Killorglin, she studied Law and German at University College Cork and has operated her legal practice – Torc Solicitors – since 2015. She is currently in the final year of a Professional Doctorate in Electoral Law. She also runs an outsource business process company with her husband, sitting Fianna Fáil Councillor Niall Kelleher. She is also a farmer. She and Niall have four children. She has placed a strong focus on Killarney town, which she says has been forgotten.

Danny Healy-Rae first joined his brother, Michael Healy-Rae, in national politics in 2016 and has remained a successful voter getter since then. His presence has given the Healy-Rae Dynasty an even firmer footing in Dublin and in Kerry. He has worked in plant hire and owns a pub in Kilgarvan, as well as being involved in farming. Prior to entering national politics, he was a member of Kerry County Council from 2004 to 2016 for the Killarney area. He has no truck with green politics and climate-change issues, and is equally vocal in the Dáil on rural issues.

Poll-topper Michael Healy-Rae is contesting his fourth General Election. The independent is the youngest son of the late TD Jackie Healy-Rae, whom he succeeded at the 2011 election. Prior to entering national politics, he served on Kerry County Council, to which he was first elected in 1999. In 2020, Deputy Healy-Rae once again topped the poll, with 16,818 first-preference votes (21.6 per cent), enough to get the not on the first count but down by about 3,500 votes on the previous election. The Kilgarvan TD is seen as extremely hard working, is vocal on many issues and does, without doubt, bring Kerry issues to the fore in the Dáil.

Michelle Keane is from Knocknogoshel and is a first-time candidate for the General Election. She ran in the local elections, finishing fifth in the four-seater Castleisland LEA. She is an Entrepreneur, CEO of Mibeau Interiors Ltd and CEO of Kingdom Water Ltd, as well an author of two books. She studied at St Mary’s NS Kocknagoshel, St Josephs Convent of Mercy Abbey Feale, and The University of Edinburgh, and was a participant in New Frontiers, Ireland’s National Entrepreneur Development Programme in The Munster Technological University.She lives with her son and daughter in Knocknogoshel, where she grew up on a farm. Immigration is one of her top priorities.

The 41-year-old father of four from Dingle is the Labour party candidate for the constituency. Born and raised on a family sheep farm at Garfiney two miles east of Dingle town he continues to work on this farm as well as working as an Auctioneer. Given his background farming is among his key priorities as is housing particularly seeking planning permission on family land.  Mike is standing in the election because he is passionate about the future of his county and country, he says.  He is married to Grainne Harcksen from Tralee and the couple have four children. He unsuccessfully contested the local elections is determined to build on this result. 

The McEllistrim family have a long history in politics namely with the Fianna Fail party.  Thomas was first elected to the Dáil for the party in 2002 and lost his seat in 2011. He was elected to Kerry County Council in 2014 but lost his seat in 2019. However, the local elections this year saw him nearly regain this seat losing by only 6 votes to Fianna Fáil’s Anne O’Sullivan.  He ran as an Independent during this election. The Ballymac man has now aligned with Independent Ireland for the forthcoming General Election. He is a former teacher but had dedicated much of his life to politics and cites housing, healthcare and immigration as a key concern. 

Ms Murphy, a native of Kenmare, previously contested the General Election in 2020 and received 5.3 per cent of the first-preference vote. Her background is in media, and she worked both as a reporter with The Kingdom newspaper and as a newsreader with Radio Kerry. More recently she has worked with Minister Pippa Hackett and as a regional development officer for the Green Party. She has also contested the local elections but failed to win a seat. She is vocal on green issues, in particular public transport. 

John O’Leary is from Kerry Pike in Cork and lists his occupation as a businessman. He is also known as Sean O’Leary and previously ran in several constituencies in the 2020 General Election and is now listed in several constituencies this time around as well, including Kerry. He garnered headlines last time for canvassing from an hospital trolley and listed healthcare and homelessness among his key concerns.

Best known as an All-Ireland winner and former Kerry senior football captain, Billy O’Shea is Fine Gael’s sole candidate. He has no prior political experience but received the nomination at convention. Mr O’Shea, originally from Listowel, works as a publican and auctioneer in Killorglin. He is also a pundit for Radio Kerry. He captained Kerry and won an All-Ireland medal in 1997.  He previously worked in AIB and worked in the agricultural sector  Mr O’Shea is married to Emir Irwin from Killarney. They have three children: Abigail, Liam and Peter.  Among his  many concerns are small business owners and he says as an owner of such a business he understands the situation they are facing. 

Stephanie is a proud mother of two from Cahersiveen and is the second candidate for the party running alongside sitting TD Pa Daly. She is from Cahersiveen and is passionate about her local community and has been involved in many community groups and has spearheaded various projects.  She says that her role as a mother of young family means she knows the challenges facing families across Kerry, particularly when it comes to affordable childcare, housing, and healthcare. She previously ran for the party in the local election this year securing 2.7% of the vote 

A clinical nurse manager with nearly 12 years’ experience in mental health, she is also a devoted wife to Michael and is a mother-of-six.  Over the past seven years, she has volunteered across Ireland, aiding families and expectant mothers.  She is running for Aontú and also ran in the local elections earlier this year.  Ms O’Sullivan is from Killorglin, and among her priorities is the health care system.

Cian Prendiville, who was previously an elected councillor in Limerick City, is running in Kerry for People Before Profit-Solidarity. Mr Prendiville said among the issues he will be campaigning on will include solidarity with Palestine, an end to the use of Shannon Airport by the US military, the passing of the Occupied Territories Bill, the establishment of a state construction company to build tens of thousands of social and affordable homes, price controls on rent, oil, energy and essentials and the scrapping of carbon taxes. He has family connections in Killorglin and Lyrecrompane.