Former Mayo footballer Alan Dillon has officially announced his candidacy as he aims to run in the next general election.
Appearing on Off The Ball's Saturday Panel, the two-time All-Star announced his attention to run during a discussion about life after retirement from the game.
"I wouldn't have any issue with being recognised or that kind of stuff around Mayo. There are opportunities now in this part of my life where my roots would have definitely been, or a large part of my family would have been, in the political arena. Maybe that's something that I might move into and I've made no secret of that to a lot of the members within Fine Gael, so I'm looking forward to that chapter".
Having only retired from inter-county football in November, the eight-time Connacht champion won't be easing himself into the political life, as he intends to run for Enda Kenny's seat in March, and referenced the former Taoiseach as a reason he's decided to go into politics.
"I'm running in the next convention, that's at the end of March".
"I've seen the likes of Enda Kenny and the work he's done throughout Mayo and I feel that the experience I've known around Castlebar, around the Castlebar area, with regards local business and community, I've been to many schools and I think the youth and the general people in Mayo needed strong representation. I feel that I can provide that, and I think that I've shown on the football field that my commitment to Mayo over the last 15 years has been something that has given me the resilience, and the passion for the people, and I'm looking forward to it".
The 35-year-old Ballintubber man said he views politics as the next stage in his life, and gave an outline of the platform he intends to run on.
"It's the next chapter, the next opportunity. I suppose it takes some courage and bravery to put yourself out there and I'm well aware of that, but I've a deep resilience and a determination to succeed in this.
"Between infrastructure, community, rural affairs, and providing facilities for education. I suppose my focus is on bringing the youth that potentially can't get a job in Mayo from the likes of Dublin".
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