RTÉ political correspondent Mícheál Lehane is stirring up the local political scene in a post today in which he suggests; “Politicians whispering, without real evidence to back it up, that a November general election is a live possibility,” and, of course, there are four November by-elections, including for the Wexford seat vacated by Mick Wallace following his election to the European Parliament.

Looking at Wexford, Lehane writes; “It’s early days but this has all the look of a straight shoot-out between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. This view is backed up by some private polling carried out by political parties.

“Fine Gael’s Verona Murphy has a high profile as the president of the Irish Road Haulage Association. It also gives her a detailed knowledge of Brexit issues, a topic that is likely to be prominent in this campaign.

“Since his solid showing in the European Parliament elections, Fianna Fáil’s Malcolm Byrne looks to be on course to get the green light to run for the party here. The selection process has already sparked an internecine battle though with Cllr Lisa McDonald accusing the party of sexism and describing them as an “out of shape” football team.

“The constituency illustrates in microcosm the challenge facing Sinn Féin. That is because in 2016 the party’s candidate Johnny Mythen came within 52 votes of winning the fifth seat. However, in the recent local elections he lost his council seat. The party will be keen then to see some signs of improvement following a series of recent electoral disappointments. Others running include Cllr George Lawlor for Labour in Wexford town and Aontú Cllr. Jim Codd in the new Rosslare Municipal Council District.”

Lehane’s early prediction favours Cllr Malcolm Byrne for Fianna Fáil based in North Wexford, WexfordToday.com disagrees, and based on loose feedback, thinks the newcomer Verona Murphy would hold the advantage in a by-election contest. It could be a different result in a General Election?

Read Mícheál Lehane’s full assessment on the RTE website, meanwhile, he concludes; “Finally, given that they are a dry run for the main event, voters are often a little more adventurous with their vote, and this can throw up some very interesting results.”