Son of prison officer murdered by IRA running for Fianna Fáil in general election

Austin Stack, who also worked as a prison officer, will join Fianna Fáil minister Sean Fleming on the party's ticket in the Laois constituency.

Brian stack was shot and murdered by the provisional IRA when he was working in Portlaoise Prison in 1984.

His son has campaigned tirelessly seeking justice for his father's murder in the hope of bringing his murderers to justice.

Austin stack served as an assistant governor in the Irish Prison Service and since retiring has launched a new health and safety consultancy business in Portlaoise.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said the new candidate is a "very passionate advocate, as shown both by his campaigning for justice for his father, who was tragically murdered by the IRA, and locally, helping people in Portlaoise".

"I am delighted he has been added to the ticket. He has a proven track record of working with residents' associations locally and is deeply rooted in his community.

"We have a well-balanced ticket in Laois with Austin and Seán and I believe we are in strong contention for two seats."

Mr Stack said he is honoured to have been added to the ticket in Laois for the General Election.

"I am hugely passionate about advocating for the people of Laois. Over the past decades, I have shown that I am not afraid of being a strong voice for people here and standing up for them.

"I am proud of my work on the Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee, engaging residents associations and will continue this hard work on behalf of the people of Laois in the weeks ahead.

"I will always fight for justice and for fairness. If elected to Dáil Éireann I will continue this and be a relentlessly strong voice for our community at a national level," he said.