Mary Newman finished runner up to Garret Ahearn in the Fine Gael selection convention held in Thurles last March – beaten by just 6 votes.
The party is openly targeting the Tipperary constituency having lost both its seats in the last General Election.
While many had tipped Mary Newman to be added to the ticket given the closeness of the result from convention there had been speculation that West Tipp County Councillor Mary Hanna Hourigan might get the nod from party headquarters.
There was also talk of a candidate from North Tipperary being chosen in a bid to get a better geographical balance.
However the mother of four got the nod from the Fine Gael Executive Council last night in a bid to reclaim the seats lost by Tom Hayes and Noel Coonan in 2016.
Reacting to the decision Mary Newman said she is looking forward to the task ahead in securing at least one seat for Fine Gael in Tipperary and that she is deeply committed to the rebuilding of the party in the constituency.
Her sister Kate O’Connell is a Fine Gael TD for Dublin Bay South.
