Cassells quitting politics

Senator Shane Cassells is quitting politics with the announcement he will not contest the forthcoming general election.

The shock announcement came today as he wrote to party colleagues informing them of his decision to bow out of politics after 25 years.

"While I have been greatly honoured to have been nominated by so many members in Meath West to contest the election, I have made the decision that I will not be seeking the nomination," he said.

Fianna Fáil is due to hold its selection convention for the Meath West constituency this Thursday, 5th September. Senator Cassells was one of two who had been proposed - the other being Trim County Councillor, Aisling Dempsey, daughter of former Minister, Noel Dempsey.

Senator Cassells was first elected to Navan Town Council in 1999 at the age of 21 and served on Meath County Council from 2004 to 2016 when he was elected to the Dáil. However, he lost his seat in the 2020 General Election and was elected to the Seanad later that year to the Labour Panel.

"I have been thinking about this for a couple of months. I needed to make a decision about the future. Elected politics takes huge levels of energy and drive and I think I've expended that energy.

"It was a great honour to represent the people of Meath. I will continue my involvement in Fianna Fail and I'll continue campaigning until I'm an elderly man," he said.