It could spell the end of Mary O'Rourke's ambitions to return to the Dáil or give her a new lease of political life. Liam Reid, Political Reporter, reports from Athlone on the build-up to tomorrow's extremely tight selection convention.
Sitting in his office close to Custume Bridge in the heart of Athlone, Fianna Fáil county councillor Kevin "Boxer" Moran is listing the national media that have been calling him over the past week.
Even his friends are taken aback about his new-found fame. "One of them rang me up to tell me I was even on the teletext," he says incredulously.
Boxer Moran, as he likes to be called ("Nobody calls me Kevin"), knows that the media interest in him is down to his party colleague and now political rival, Senator Mary O'Rourke, the matriarch of the Lenihan political dynasty.
He and Mrs O'Rourke are fighting it out for a Fianna Fáil nomination to stand in the Longford-Westmeath constituency in the next general election. The selection convention is to be held tomorrow in Mullingar.
The party will be running three candidates, but sitting TDs Peter Kelly and Donie Cassidy are unopposed for the nominations for the Longford and north Westmeath parts of the constituency, respectively.
There will be only one election at tomorrow's convention to choose a candidate from the southern end of Co Westmeath.
The splitting in three of the constituency selection convention has also avoided what was expected to have been a hard-fought contest for a nomination between Mr Cassidy and Mrs O'Rourke.
The choice between Mrs O'Rourke and Mr Moran will be made by the 87 delegates from the Fianna Fáil organisation in Athlone and the south of Co Westmeath. By all accounts, the contest is too close to call.
For Mrs O'Rourke, now leader of the Seanad, it will probably be her last chance to regain a Dáil seat, thus ensuring the continued power of the Lenihan dynasty in Fianna Fáil, with two nephews Brian and Conor holding junior ministries at present.
On the face of it, the race for the nomination appears to be a cordial affair. Mr Moran and Mrs O'Rourke are polite and complimentary about each other.
Interestingly, they both name Cllr Tom Allen from Moate as one of their supporters. He is perhaps better known as country singer TR Dallas, who had a string of hits in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Who Shot JR Ewing? But when contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Allen said he was not "taking sides".
"I'm like the X in OXO," he explained, saying he had canvassed with both candidates.
Behind the scenes, when reporters' pens and tape recorders are put away, the two candidates' supporters speak of a vicious and dirty battle at times.
Mr Moran's team claims that Mrs O'Rourke alienated a good proportion of the party in Athlone following the last general election, when she lost her seat.
There are stories of rows and dressing downs that reduced some hardened political activists to tears.
A number of activists personally confirm such encounters.
But sipping tea in the Prince of Wales hotel in Athlone, Mrs O'Rourke smiles when this is put to her, and refers to another "poor" journalist by name who suggested the same on national radio.
"There's no one I can't go to the door to," she says.
She has been campaigning for the nomination since before Christmas.
She says the canvass of local Fianna Fáil activists has been a time where she has "renewed very good friendships".
Mrs O'Rourke's supporters claim Mr Moran's camp has been trying to use the age card against her when canvassing voters, claiming she would be too old.
Back in his office Mr Moran does not refer to Mrs O'Rourke's age (68), although he does refer consistently to his own (37) and the need for Fianna Fáil to attract younger members and younger candidates if it is to survive.
Mr Moran's camp has also claimed that Mrs O'Rourke's supporters have been trying to make an issue of his educational attaintment.
He did not attend secondary school - a fact he is happy to confirm. He speaks about coming from a large family of 14, and the need to become a breadwinner at an early age. A carpenter by trade he now runs one of the largest taxi businesses in Athlone.
He says: "It used to be called Boxer Cabs but I changed it to A1 because it's now first in the phone book."
Ironically, given their rivalry, the threat of Donie Cassidy could be a deciding factor in favour of Mary O'Rourke. The Fianna Fáil delegates from the Athlone and Kilbeggan areas know that if south Westmeath is to regain a seat, they have to select a candidate who can beat Mr Cassidy. This in theory should give Mrs O'Rourke the slight edge due to her national profile.
Despite this, many believe that Mr Moran could win by a small margin, as he appears to have the support of the majority of councillors and senior party officials in the area, due in no small part to the encounters between them and Mrs O'Rourke.
Mr Allen says it is too close to call.
"It'll be down to a half dozen votes," he believes.
"Both of them have put a lot of time into it, but like any election, it'll be the horse that jumps the ditch first who'll win."