THE daughter of the late Fianna Fáil minister Séamus Brennan has decided to run for election in the local elections on 5 June.

Aoife Brennan made her decision to run in recent days, just as it emerged that her brother Shay will not attempt to fill his late father's seat by seeking election to the Dáil in the Dublin South by-election.

Shay was expected to contest the seat but he has decided against it as the 35-year-old believes his employment at Anglo Irish Bank could damage his electoral hopes, even though he is not in a senior role at the company.

Although Shay has no political experience, the conventional wisdom in the Fianna Fáil party was that he had the best chance of retaining his late father's seat in the by-election due to the respect for the Brennan name in the constituency.

The ambitious Senator Maria Corrigan is now expected to battle for the seat for Fianna Fáil against her Seanad colleague and Labour senator Alex White and a Fine Gael candidate who has yet to be announced.

A senior Fine Gael source told the Sunday Tribune last week that the party is confident they will run a "high-profile" candidate but it will most likely be after Easter before the, as yet unknown, candidate is unveiled.

Given that Shay Brennan has opted not to contest the by-election while his 30-year-old sister has announced she is seeking a nomination in the Dundrum ward for the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown council, Aoife now looks the most likely to follow in her father's footsteps into political life.

Aoife is married to Christopher Tighe and they have one young son, Calum. She has worked in a customer relations role in South Dublin County Council for the last five years. Experienced at dealing with county councillors and the general public, it is believed her knowledge of the workings of local government will enhance her electoral prospects.

Speaking to the Sunday Tribune, Aoife said: "I look forward to receiving a nomination from Fianna Fáil in the coming days to contest the local elections in the Dundrum ward of Dublin South.

"Dad taught me to be hard-working and I was inspired by the way he was always working for every constituent. The result of his hard work can be seen all over the community of Dundrum and I am reminded of this daily when I meet people.

"I have grown up in this community and seen substantial growth and change over recent years. Much of this is welcome change bringing transport links, jobs, accommodation and modern retail and lifestyle amenities to our area. While I welcome this growth, I remain determined that we should not lose sight of our sense of community and the range of local issues that affect us on a daily basis."

Brennan's attempts to enter political life may put pressure on sitting Dundrum FF councillor Tony Fox. There is much uncertainty about Fox's intentions as the veteran councillor was named in court as a beneficiary of bribes from Frank Dunlop.