A Fianna Fáil councillor will be "invoking the powers of the High Court" against the party if it fails to ratify his selection as a general election candidate.
Cllr Mattie McGrath, of Tipperary County Council, headed the poll at Fianna Fáil's selection convention for Tipperary South ahead of Senator Martin Mansergh and Cllr Siobhán Ambrose.
All three were selected to run in the three-seat constituency where sitting Fianna Fáil TD Noel Davern is retiring. But last week's meeting of the Fianna Fáil national constituency committee failed to ratify the candidacy of Cllr McGrath despite ratifying all other candidates selected for the general election.
The party has requested an explanation of the circumstances which led to Cllr McGrath (and six other people) appearing at Clonmel District Court last month on public order offences. They were charged following an incident in Cllr McGrath's home village of Newcastle, near Clonmel, in August last year and will appear in court again on May 8th.
A Fianna Fáil spokesman said yesterday that "the national constituency committee, chaired by Brian Cowen, is waiting for input" from Cllr McGrath's legal team. He could not comment on when any decision would be made on the ratification.
However, Cllr McGrath said he has "given all the evidence [ he] can to the party" and claims that Fianna Fáil is acting in an "outrageous and unacceptable way" and that "HQ can't take the role of eminent judges and the DPP".
He is concerned that the party's failure to ratify his nomination would suggest to a jury that he was "tainted".
Cllr McGrath said: "I am totally innocent and look forward to the earliest opportunity to clear my good name." He said the party "cannot impugn my reputation just because I was summonsed to court" and that over the past 10 years the Taoiseach had stood by several members of Fianna Fáil who had been accused of wrongdoing on the grounds that "due process has to take place".
He accused Fianna Fáil headquarters in Dublin of "interfering in the judicial process" and undermining his "constitutional rights as a citizen". He believes the party is "acting out of order" despite having "plenty of legal advice available to them".
Separately, Cllr McGrath has lodged an official complaint with An Garda Síochána about the Garda handling of the charges against him. This is currently the subject of an investigation by a superintendent.
In spite of the party's failure to ratify him, Cllr McGrath spent much of the weekend canvassing in Cashel and other towns in the constituency. Roadside signs have appeared, some of which feature the party logo, as does his election literature. He told The Irish Times: "I am a Dáil candidate for Fianna Fáil" and that "the party faithful" had selected him as their preferred candidate. He is "confident" of winning a seat and claims to have "huge support".
Cllr McGrath blamed "a minority of the [ Fianna Fáil] establishment who want to hold on to the power base" for attempting to block his candidacy by spreading "scurrilous lies". There had been "several rumours" about his health and financial affairs, including allegations that he was "not tax-compliant", and he said senior Fianna Fáil Ministers had snubbed him during visits.
He claimed that one of his three branded election campaign vans was "sabotaged" and "spray-painted with black paint", and that posters were defaced with "Mattie for Jail" instead of the Dáil, while others were "destroyed". He has reported the incidents to the Garda.
Cllr McGrath (49) represents the Cahir electoral area. In the 2004 local elections he won the highest personal vote in Co Tipperary and was Fianna Fáil's only poll topper.