Valerie Duffy has been elected to fill the late Cllr John Naughten's seat on Roscommon County Council. It follows Fine Gael's selection convention for the vacant seat at the Athlone Springs Hotel tonight.
Valerie Duffy defeated Ger Grehan following the counting of members' votes this evening. The Moore woman had been proposed by former TD Denis Naughten and seconded by Cllr Domnick Connolly. The seat in the Athlone Local Electoral Area had been vacant since Cllr John Naughten's death in October of last year.
Members of the Naughten family including John's wife Breda, his mother Mary and brother and former Government Minister Denis Naughten were present at tonight's selection convention. Proposing Valerie Duffy, Denis Naughten revealed it was John's loyalty and efforts to reunite the party locally which inspired him to rejoin Fine Gael after 14 years.
More to follow...
