Séighin Ó Ceallaigh

As many of you will be aware by now, I will not be contesting the next General Election for Sinn Féin in County Limerick. This was not my decision to make, as the party has instructed that the constituency convention be contested by women only, making me ineligible to throw my hat in the ring. While I am disappointed and frustrated by this decision, I understand that it was made in the context of the state-wide gender quota, which applies to all political parties. Understandably my fellow members of Sinn Féin are also disappointed by this decision, particularly the lack of consultation with the local grassroots members, who gave so much of their time to build Sinn Fein to what it is today in County Limerick. When I joined the party in 2011, the party didn’t have a General Election candidate in County Limerick, and were on a single digit percentage of support. It brings me great pride to see that that the party, represented by myself, came so close to winning an historic Dáil seat i...