Murphy to contest FG nomination in Meath East

Dunboyne-based Fine Gael county councillor Maria Murphy will be seeking a Fine Gael nomination to fight the general election in the Meath East constituency. “I am looking forward to the general election. I know from knocking on doors across Meath that the people are angry. Hardworking families are facing great insecurity. Fine Gael will be seriously up for the battle ahead. The party will have to demonstrate that in Government they will make a difference,” she said after she announced her intentions last week. She said she has enjoyed being a county councillor and had devoted herself full-time to the task. “The work involved in being a councillor is a great grounding for running for the Dáil. Teamwork will be important in the general election campaign. I have developed a great rapport with sitting Fine Gael TD, Shane McEntee. That good working relationship will be a real positive when the general election is called,” she added. She said Ireland would be be a different place after we come out of this recession. “New thinking and new ways of managing the country will be required. Former Taoiseach John Bruton, in a recent speech, reminded us that Ireland is not a poor country. We must not let Ireland’s current situation lead us into despair. The current Government has no sense of vision and is driving the people to despair. Fine Gael has the policies that are the way forward,” she said. Cllr Murphy has lived in Dunboyne since 1998. She is originally from Marino in Dublin and also lived for a short time in west Cork. She is married with three children. She worked in the telecommunications industry and later with Eircom. She is a former member of the board of management of Dunboyne Junior Primary School and has served a long number of years on the parents’ association of the primary schools in Dunboyne. She also served on the Meath Branch of the National Parents Council - Primary and was a director of that organisation for six years and served terms as honorary secretary and honorary treasurer. She was also a director of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). Cllr Murphy is outgoing secretary of St Peter’s College parents’ association and is a member of the boards of Meath VEC, St Peter’s College, Dunboyne, and Dunshaughlin Community College. She was elected to Meath County Council in 2009 and is a full-time councillor.