In 2002 the second Fianna Fáil TD Dermot Fitzpatrick had been elected in 2002 with a narrow margin of just 79 votes over the Sinn Féin candidate Nicky Kehoe.
[8] On the night before polling day, 24 May 2007, Fitzpatrick distributed leaflets to households asking people to vote for her as their first preference.
In the early hours of the following morning, a letter had been hand-delivered from Ahern's office to 30,000 voters in the constituency, urging them give their first preference to the Taoiseach and their second to Brady.
[11] In January 2011, he was selected as a Fianna Fáil candidate in Dublin Central for the 2011 general election along with Mary Fitzpatrick.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said his loyalties this time would be with the sitting TD (Brady), and there was no hope of Fianna Fáil winning two seats in the constituency.