Entrepreneur Brody Sweeney of O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bars is preparing to throw his hat into the ring to stand for Fine Gael in the next general election.
The millionaire businessman will be "unveiled" by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today in the Shelbourne Hotel's Constitution Room, where Mr Sweeney will formally join the party.
Mr Sweeney opened his first sandwich bar in 1988 and began to sell franchises in his operation in 1994. By 2008, he hopes to have 400 outlets in the UK alone.
By then, Mr Sweeney also hopes to be a Fine Gael TD for Dublin North East, though he will have to secure a selection convention nomination first.
"I have only begun to realise that it is going to be harder to get the nomination than it will be to do anything else," he said yesterday.
Currently, Dublin North East, which covers Baldoyle, Darndale, Howth, Raheny and Sutton, is represented by Fianna Fáil's Michael Woods and Martin Brady and Labour's Tommy Broughan.
The former Fine Gael TD, Michael Joe Cosgrave, failed in his effort to hold his seat in the constituency which had been reduced to a three-seater by the Boundary Review Commission, winning just 2,349 votes.
However, his daughter, Cllr Niamh Cosgrave, is likely to be one of Mr Sweeney's main challengers for the Dáil nomination. Others in the race could be Tony Sutton, Terry Flanagan and Naoise Ó Muirí.
Mr Sweeney's desire to enter the political maelstrom is not being greeted wholeheartedly everywhere: "It has caused some disagreement within the family," he acknowledged.
"I was quite disillusioned at the time of the last general election. There was no opposition.
"That frustrated me as a democrat," said Mr Sweeney. "Politics needs fresh blood."
The O'Brien business chain has 230 stores stretching across four continents and it reported a turnover of €65 million in 2002.
Earlier this month, Mr Sweeney joined the board of Paddy Power bookmakers.
