Clare county board chairman Michael McDonagh has been selected to run for Fianna Fáil in the Clare constituency in the next General Election.

The Miltown-Malbay man was nominated along with sitting TD Timmy Dooley by party delegates in Ennis last night, seeing off Cllr Clare Colleran-Molloy and Rita McInerney. Dooley was selected on the first count of the ballot, while McDonagh was selected on the second.

McDonagh's nomination comes after Ger Loughnane had said his position as Clare chairman has become "completely and utterly untenable", and claimed that he is using it to fulfil his political ambitions.

The Miltown Malbay clubman, who came in for fierce criticism recently after Davy Fitzgerald was reappointed hurling manager without the clubs being consulted, refuted the former two-time All-Ireland winning manager's claim when saying: "The suggestion that any comments I have made are self-serving or politically motivated are wrong and appear to me to be intentionally misleading and intended to damage my candidacy in Friday's Fianna Fáil selection convention."

Loughnane said in the Clare Champion: "I think the chairman's position, by his actions, is completely and utterly untenable. If we want to have a future, we need to look at the whole set-up and that includes officers in the county board. Have we the right officers to pursue the right agenda for the future?

"His (McDonagh) interest is short-term and his interest is not on the future of Clare hurling. He is pursuing a political career and all of his utterances and actions are aiming to improve his status in that area."

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