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Brother of Westlife star swaps property for politics

Former Westlife singer Shane Filan ended up with debts of e23 million after Shafin Developments went into receivership
Former Westlife singer Shane Filan ended up with debts of e23 million after Shafin Developments went into receivership Former Westlife singer Shane Filan ended up with debts of e23 million after Shafin Developments went into receivership

The brother of former Westlife singer Shane Filan is swapping property for politics.

Renua, the political party set up by former Fine Gael junior minister Lucinda Creighton, has confirmed that Finbarr Phelan (47) has joined its ranks as a candidate for the Republic’s next general election in Sligo-Leitrim.

The businessman, who qualified as a manufacturing engineer, yesterday spoke of how the state's property crash hit both him and his famous sibling.

The pair set up their ill-fated development company, Shafin Developments, over a decade ago but were declared bankrupt in 2012.

He told RTÉ that the siblings had gone into business together because they both wanted a retirement plan and they "wanted to do something for Sligo".

Former chart-topper Shane Filan previously revealed that he ended up with debts of €23 million after Shafin Developments went into receivership.

The singer and his wife Gillian were forced to move out of their home in Carraroe, Co Sligo, in 2013, and the mansion, which cost e3 million to build and had been valued at e10 million at the height of the boom, sold for €800,000 last year.

Finbarr yesterday revealed the extent of the brothers' financial woes, saying: "There's nothing like the day your wife rings you and tells you the passcard isn't working, and that was the day Bank of Ireland pulled the plug on us, and we couldn’t buy food."

Ms Creighton said her party's newest candidate was "an entrepreneur on the high street who has experienced the highs and the lows of business and can bring the sort of `can do' pragmatism to Irish politics which is sorely needed".