Fishing industry representative Patrick Murphy intends to contest the next European elections in the Ireland South constituency.

Murphy who is chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers’ Organisation (IS&WFPO), may also stand for the local elections next year.

Murphy says he has been selected by political party Aontú, which is estimated to have 4% national support in a recent opinion poll.

Aontú is lead by Peadar Tóibín, a former member of both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin.

Tóibín resigned from Sinn Féin in 2018 over his anti-abortion stance, and formed Aontú in January 2019.

Toíbín has said his party aims to win an Ireland South seat in the five-seater Ireland South constituency, which is currently represented by MEPs from three government parties and Independent Mick Wallace

As The Southern Star reports, Murphy gained national attention last year after he “took on the Russian navy and secured a deal for them to move their controversial manoeuvres further away from West Cork fishers’ grounds”.

Murphy (52), who is married to Rose, with four children, is a Heir island native, and is from a well known fishing family. He has been involved in mussel production in Roaringwater Bay for the past 25 years.

He told the newspaper it was time to “put his money where his mouth is” and fight for the rights of the fishing community.

“I see what is coming down the tracks from Europe, especially with regards to fishing, and getting a fairer deal for what’s left of our fishers is my main objective now,” he said.

“ I’ve spent my whole life intimately involved in the life of our coastal community,” he said.

“I’ve coached the Gabriel Rangers Gaelic football team and set up the Ballydehob Youth Centre,” he said.

He is also a member of the local community First Responders and a qualified instructor and also holds a qualification in childcare from Rossa College in Skibbereen.

“Through my work with the IS&WFPO, I’m acutely aware that the Irish people and specifically, our coastal communities are so dependent on fishing for their livelihood and survival, and that they are being failed at a European Union level,” he said.

“ We need politicians to represent us in the European Union who have the strength and courage to stand up to vested interests working in and around the European Council, Commission and Parliament in Brussels while protecting our Irish interests and specifically the interests of our fishing and farming communities,”he said.

“We need people who understand how the legislative and lobbying systems operating in Brussels affect the daily lives of ordinary people here in Ireland,” Murphy said.

Read more in The Southern Star here