Flaherty and Troy to make up two-man Fianna Fáil general election ticket in Longford-Westmeath

Current TDs Joe Flaherty and Robert Troy will be Fianna Fáil’s only candidates in the Longford-Westmeath constituency in the general election.

It's after Athlone councillor Aengus O'Rourke pulled out of the race, after being nominated along with Flaherty and Troy.

O'Rourke withdrew after Fianna Fáil decided to run only two candidates in the five-seat constituency.

Flaherty and Troy will be confirmed as the party's ticket at selection conventions in the coming weeks.

Political analyst Patrick Donohoe, from Moyne in Longford, says Fianna Fáil rejected O'Rourke's call for a three-candidate strategy.