Party selects five more candidates to run in local election in Kildare

The Social Democrats have formally selected five more candidates to run in Kildare in the June 2024 local elections.

At a formal selection convention on Monday night, November 20, three sitting councillors, Aidan Farrelly, Nuala Killeen and Bill Clear from the Clane, Leixlip and Naas Local Electoral Areas respectively were selected alongside Pat Balfe from the Kildare LEA and Rachael Wall who will contest the Athy LEA.

The party has already selected Peter Melrose to contest the Maynooth LEA at next June’s local elections.

The Social Democrats currently has four elected councillors on Kildare County Council and party co-founder and former co-leader Catherine Murphy, TD for Kildare North welcomed the selection of the new candidates.

“The party has had a strong impact on the council since the local elections of 2019, but it cannot be over-stated how increasing our numbers would have an even greater impact,” she said.

“There are eight Local Electoral Areas in Kildare and we are ambitious to contest every single one of them.

“I am very pleased with the candidates we are selecting this evening – they are all great community activists in their own areas.”

Rachael Wall is from Castledermot and works with Nua Healthcare. In the past she has worked with Kildare Youth Services and as a substitute teacher. 

She is married with one daughter and is very active in her home community.

From Curragh Camp originally, Pat Balfe spent 35 years in the Defence Forces during which he volunteered as a youth worker in Monasterevin, where he lives now. He has also lived in Brownstown and Kildare Town.

After retiring from the Defence Forces, Pat managed the Hive Youth Hub in Kildare Town before joining Scouting Ireland where he now works.

Cllr Nuala Killeen is a passionate and experienced political representative with a wealth of experience in dealing with community issues, including managing the constituency office of Catherine Murphy in Leixlip village since 2012.

She is committed to ensure fair funding and spending in Leixlip and has proposed many innovations to benefit the community including the recent Pop-up Pool for Leixlip which was funded by the Local Property Tax and a grant from Intel.

Cllr Aidan Farrelly is a youth and community development worker, and a resident in Prosperous, having grown up in Clane. 

He was a Team Leader with Kildare Youth Services, and opened the first Youth Project in Clane in 2008. Since then, he has worked in many communities throughout Kildare including Naas, Celbridge, Allenwood, Prosperous, Rathangan and others.

He has been involved as chair of Prosperous Youth Club, and as a former Vice-Chairperson of the local Community Association.

Since he was elected in 2019, he has become the chairperson of the Kildare Health and Wellbeing Committee, a member of the Local Community Development Committee - as well as working to improve housing, playgrounds, social infrastructure, conditions for the safety of all road users. 

Cllr Bill Clear has lived in Naas for 20 years and is chair of the Naas Greenway project which is a cycle and walking network that connects all estates to all schools and sports clubs in the area.

Bill is chair of Naas Tidy Towns and Vice-Chair of Naas Access and Disability Group.

He is married with three children and works as a marine casualty investigator. In the past he worked as a ship’s captain and a pilot in Dublin Port.