New era for Social Democrats as party’s co-founders will not contest next election
It didn’t come as a great surprise yesterday morning when Social Democrat co-founders TDs Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy announced they would not be standing again. The veteran politicians co-founded the party almost 10 years ago alongside now Fianna Fáil cabinet minister, Stephen Donnelly.
The two political titans are well-known and respected in Leinster House, with Ms Murphy credited for her probing performances on the Dáil’s public spending watchdog and Ms Shortall, a previous Labour minister of state, now being the longest-serving female TD.
Under the leadership of Cork TD Holly Cairns for over a year, there are new horizons for the party, but it’s not entirely clear what they are.
For a party that is nearly a decade old, progress has been slow.
Despite recent relatively positive local elections, the European elections did not go according to plan – at all – for the party.
Former human rights commissioner Sinead Gibney, who left the well-paid job to run in Dublin, amassed just over 16,000 first preference votes.
Prominent housing lecturer in Maynooth University, Rory Hearne, ran in Midlands-North West and got over 15,000 first preferences. Interestingly, the candidate with the lowest profile and least media appearances, Susan Doyle, got the most first preference votes in Ireland South, coming in at just over 20,000.
However, the party did double its number of councillors in Dublin from five to 10. Across the country, it increased its count from 19 to 35 local council seats. Even though it lost Ms Cairns’ Cork council seat – which she famously got elected on to by just a single vote – it gained a seat in the nearby electoral area.
In contrast, Independent Ireland, the Dáil’s newest political party, returned 23 councillors. It currently has three TDs and even elected an MEP in Midlands-North West, Ciaran Mullooly.
Radio presenter Niall Boylan narrowly missed out on a seat in Dublin in a formidable performance for a socalled celebrity candidate. The party, which does not employ a whip system, was successful in capitalising on a gap in Irish politics, left vacant by Sinn Féin and the Coalition parties. It was formed just last November.
The olive branch has repeatedly been extended to the Social Democrats by Labour, both by current and previous leaders. Ivana Bacik has said how there are no “ideological” differences between the two.
With an MEP in Dublin, the two parties would have a combined 91 councillors and 12 TDs. However, Ms Cairns has repeatedly ruled out joining forces.
Those within the party are confident the two seats left vacant by Ms Shortall and Ms Murphy will be held on to.
Ms Gibney is now rumoured to be running in the next general election as the party’s candidate in Dublin Rathdown. Mr Hearne may be in line for Ms Murphy’s Kildare North seat.
Other contenders include councillors Nuala Killeen, Aidan Farrelly and Claire O’Rourke.
Ms Shortall’s seat in Dublin-North West is also expected to be hotly contested by councillors in the area, Mary Callaghan, Aishling Silke and Jesslyn Henry.
‘The olive branch has been extended by Labour, but Soc Dems’ leader Cairns has repeatedly ruled out joining forces’