Fine Gael members in the Tipperary South constituency have chosen not to run a sitting senator as their candidate in the next General Election.
A selection convention held in Cashel last night ended in surprise with Clonmel-based Councillor Michael Murphy defeating Senator Garret Ahearn for the nomination, by 246 votes to 210.
Mr Ahearn, son of the late Fine Gael TD Theresa Ahearn, was one of two party candidates in the five-seat Tipperary constituency at the 2020 General Election but neither he nor Mary Newman managed to win a seat.
Mr Murphy, a former mayor of Clonmel and cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, ran in the 2011 General Election in the three-seat Tipperary South constituency and finished fourth on first preference votes.
Tipperary North and South were united as a five-seat constituency for the 2016 and 2020 General Elections but have been split again into two three-seaters for the next election.
Fine Gael has not had a seat in Tipperary since Tom Hayes lost his berth in 2016.
Tipperary South is currently home to two of the county's five TDs - Independent Mattie McGrath and Martin Browne of Sinn Féin - and the addition of an extra seat in the county for the next election will be seen as an opportunity for Fine Gael to regain at least one position.
Tipperary North holds the base of Independent TD Michael Lowry, as well as Fianna Fáil's Jackie Cahill and Alan Kelly of Labour.
"I am absolutely honoured to have been selected by the Fine Gael members to be their candidate for the next General Election," Cllr Murphy said after the convention.
"I'm extremely grateful to the Fine Gael grassroots for putting confidence in me for being their standard bearer for the new constituency."
