28 year old Gearóid Murphy was last Friday night selected to fill the Fianna Fail seat on Cork Co Council which had been vacated by Daniel Fitzgerald. Son of Gerald Murphy, businessman and part-time farmer from Charleville (Managing Director of CID Electrical), and Noreen Murphy, retired teacher and former Principal of Dromagh National School, the new councillor said that he would be moving his residence to Mallow in the coming weeks, as he pledged to do during his campaign. A qualified barrister, he is currently practising on the Cork Circuit and specialises in civil and family law.
Speaking after his selection, he said, “I am extremely honoured to have been selected by my fellow party members to represent Kanturk-Mallow on Cork County Council. I would like to sincerely thank the members of Fianna Fáil in Kanturk-Mallow, who welcomed me into their homes during the campaign and listened to my platform. I would like to pay tribute to the other three candidates, Bart Donegan, Rosarie Flaherty and Paul Guinane, all of whom had excellent campaigns, and I look forward to working closely with them in the future.”
“I would also like to pay special tribute to the late Cllr. Dan Joe Fitzgerald. In accordance with my campaign pledge, one of my first tasks will be to move my residence to Mallow town, which Cllr. Fitzgerald represented with distinction for so many years. Now is when the real work begins, and I will need to use all of the experience I gained as a barrister and through my involvement in Fianna Fáil to do justice to Dan Joe’s legacy. Running for the co-option was a fantastic experience and I look forward to working with our talented team in County Hall to deliver for the people of Kanturk-Mallow,” he said.
In the first count last Friday, Bart Donegan got 61 votes,  Gearoid Murphy 55, Rosarie Flaherty 39, and Paul Guinane 15.  Count 2 saw Donegan on 73, Murphy 57, and Flaherty 40.  In the third count, Murphy got 83, and Donegan 82. There was an automatic recount which gave the same result, and Murphy was deemed elected.
An active member of Fianna Fáil since 2007, Cllr Murphy first joined Ógra, the party’s youth organisation, in university, and also gained political experience through involvement with the Students Union in college, before embarking on a political career. He was elected to the Fianna Fáil National Executive in 2015, and serves as chair of his local Fianna Fáil Cumann and Comhairle Cheantar. He was formally co-opted in County Hall last Monday, 10th April., proposed by Cllr. Frank O’Flynn and seconded by Cllr. Bob Ryan.
He ia an active member of Macra na Feirme and in fact travelled to Kilkenny the day after the co-option convention to compete in the Macra Impromptu Debating All-Ireland semi-final, in which he and the team went through to the final. He is also an active member of Mallow Masters Swimming Club, although he concedes that his participation in training fell off during the run-up to the election!