Jackie broke from FF in controversial circumstances prior to the June 1997 general election. When the party refused to nominate him as a candidate, he decided to run as an Independent and surprised most observers by getting elected. He had made a strong case to party leader Bertie Ahern, whom he met in Dublin, and other influential figures in FF to be put on the ticket as a third candidate alongside Deputy John O’Donoghue and Cllr Brian O’Leary, a son of retired FF TD John O’Leary. He also predicted that FF would lose its second seat in Kerry South if he was not added to the ticket. But when it became clear that he would not be added, Jackie decided two months prior to the election to leave FF and run as an Independent – the biggest decision of his political life up to that point given his long association with FF. "They (FF headquarters) should have listened to what I and my supporters were saying. I knew from the feedback I was getting that if anyone went on to the streets of South Kerry and asked people for their opinions, twelve or fifteen out of every twenty people would say I should be added," he is quoted as saying in the book, The Mighty Healy-Rae.