Only one name will go forward at Sunday's Labour Party convention in Tullamore, Co Offaly, to select a candidate to contest the Laois-Offaly constituency race. Mr John Dwyer, a skills trainer from Clara, is expected to be chosen to contest the election for Labour, which has been experiencing difficulty after difficulty in this area.
First there was the shock resignation from political life of Senator Pat Gallagher, who had a spectacular rise in politics and had taken a Dail seat in the 1992 election.
Well liked and respected, Mr Gallagher had achieved a high of 14 per cent of the vote in the constituency at a time when Labour was only able to achieve 10 per cent nationally.
When he lost his Dail seat, Mr Gallagher moved easily into the Seanad and was working hard to expand his Tullamore base into Co Laois when he announced two years ago that he was leaving politics for personal reasons.
While the former senator went to work with Westmeath County Council, his legacy was evident when, in the last local elections, Labour took four seats on Tullamore Urban District Council.
The man who might have filled his shoes, Mr Sean O'Brien, had been elected to the county council and urban council and was a member of the county's VEC.
He announced early this month that because of illhealth he had decided not to seek the nomination, especially if there was a June election. He said he would not be well enough to take part and reluctantly he would have to opt out of the race because he needed time to get well again.
"I am very disappointed but I do not have the energy to take part now. When I am fully recovered I would like to try it again," he said this week.
A Labour Party spokesman admitted during the week that the withdrawal of Mr Gallagher from public life had left the party with a big hill to climb.
The withdrawal of Sean O'Brien, he said, had added to the difficulties in what is clearly Fianna Fail heartland, which holds three of the five seats in the constituency.
"However, we have a very good candidate in John Dwyer and we know there is a Labour seat in the constituency. A lot will depend on the timing of the election," he said.
A lot of work was going into building up the party machine, especially in Laois, and Mr Gallagher's legacy could be built on in the next electoral contest.