Some are in their late teens. Their heroes range from Nelson Mandela to Bernadette McAliskey. Key concerns for them include housing and climate change. They are the youngest candidates declared so far for the larger political parties who are seeking your vote in next June’s local elections.
But who are the younger people set to battle it out for seats on Ireland’s local authorities, and are they prepared for the challenges that come with entering public life?
James Stokes (18) is the youngest candidate selected by any political party so far. A member of the Travelling Community, he is running for Sinn Féin in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
He has already come in for abuse on social media saying that from the perspective of his online critics, “I have three things going against me – that I’m running for Sinn Féin, that I’m a Traveller and that I’m a young person.”
But he insists: “I don’t care what keyboard warriors say.”
Saoirse Mackin (25) is a Social Democrats candidate for Cork City Council. Believed to be the Republic’s first transgender candidate, she has already experienced negativity online.
She said she expected transphobia adding: “I’m not going to let that stop me. I’m very passionate about the issues… and wanting to make a difference.”
Others have been on the receiving end of backlash over their views on immigration. Green Party candidate in Ballinamore Adam Ó Ceallaigh (21) received backlash due to his involvement in the Leitrim For All group, while Labour’s James Kearney (30), running in South Dublin’s Killiney-Shankill, has come across three signs on doors that read “Ireland for the Irish” which also made clear none of Ireland’s mainstream parties were welcome.
He says he was confronted by a woman on the street last month over his support for immigrants with insults of “traitor” and “scumbag” thrown at him.
People Before Profit’s candidate in Galway city, Maisie McMaster (21), is concerned about the potential for online vitriol to incite real-life violence.
She plans to use social media more during the campaign but says: “I’ve been focusing on putting my energy into connections on a personal level [face-to-face] within my community.”
Aspiring politicians from the “big three” political parties, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, all mentioned their youth when responding to common attacks made against their parties.
Asked about the violence during the Troubles and links between Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA, James Stokes says: “That’s history to me. I was born in 2005… I’m grateful that there was a peace process and that I’ve never had to live through anything other than peace.”
What about Fianna Fáil being blamed by many voters for the impact of the 2008 financial crisis in Ireland?
Rachel Hartigan (21), one of the party’s candidates in Clare, says: “I was in primary school. Ireland is a completely different place now.”
She says her party is appealing to young people in particular through initiatives like this year’s increase in the minimum wage, cuts to college fees and transport costs, and free contraception for young women.
Should Fine Gael not have solved the housing crisis after more than a decade in government?
Ben Ward (20), who’s running for the party in Tullow, Co Carlow, says Fine Gael came into power before he knew what politics was.
He says it was “right after the crash and they had to rebuild the country… Housing numbers are going up and up. It takes time to build back up what was broken down so badly before.”
Who are the youngest candidates for Ireland’s main political parties?
James Stokes
Age: 18
Party: Sinn Féin
Running where? Newbridge (Kildare County Council)
Education/job: Studying primary school teaching at Maynooth University
When did he get interested in politics? A member of the student council in his secondary school, he campaigned for period products to be available there to combat period poverty. He has been influenced by his late grandfather, also James Stokes, a Traveller activist who campaigned against discrimination.
Why Sinn Féin? He did work experience in local Sinn Féin TD Patricia Ryan’s office. “I wasn’t Sinn Féin but I was left-leaning,” he says. James was impressed with how Ryan and local councillor Noel Connolly helped constituents.
Big issues for young people? Affordable housing, climate change, cheap, accessible public transport, youth facilities – “there’s no public swimming pool in Newbridge”.
Do you want to be Taoiseach someday? “It’s something I would of course love... There’s never been a Traveller Taoiseach… I’d like to make history. It’s not something I’ve thought about a lot. It’s early days.”
Political heroes? Travellers’ rights activist Senator Eileen Flynn. He says there should be more Travellers in Leinster House “but even that one voice standing up and speaking for us, that’s amazing”.
Ben Ward
Age: 20 (turns 21 the week of the election)
Party: Fine Gael
Running where?: Tullow Municipal District (Carlow County Council)
Education/job: Studying philosophy, politics and economics at University College Dublin
When did you get interested in politics? As head boy at school during Covid. “We had the whole controversy with, ‘was [the Leaving Cert] going ahead?’, predicted grades… I was emailing [Minister for Education] Norma Foley… that was [the] first time I got interested in representing people.”
Why Fine Gael? “They’re big on supporting business, supporting investment into the country, and that’s the only way that you can create the money to then give back to people.”
Big issues for young people? Mental health services, youth amenities, housing. “There are lots of young people around Tullow who want to start life there… but they just can’t because there’s no housing available.”
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “It’s decades down the road, if it ever happens, but definitely one day I would like to do that.”
Political heroes? Minister Simon Harris: “I just like the way he does politics”. Also Nelson Mandela as he likes the idea of someone seeing something wrong and thinking, “I could change this”.
Maisie McMaster
Age: 21
Party: People Before Profit
Running where? Galway City-West (Galway City Council)
Education/job: Works as a barista. Hopes to study creative arts.
When did you get interested in politics? “When I started volunteering at 17 with Spunout.ie – Ireland’s youth information organisation.”
Why People Before Profit? “It’s the caring nature towards people… fighting for workers and the environment as we’re an eco-socialist party.”
Big issues for young people? The cost-of-living and housing crises which “can feed into many parts of your life like your emotional and physical well-being.”
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “I have the ambition to put myself towards this [the local elections]. Who knows what might come across my path in the future.”
Political heroes? Civil rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey who was elected to the House of Commons in 1969 aged 21 – “a young activist with very strong convictions and a very grounded approach to politics”.
Rachel Hartigan
Age: 21 (22 at election time)
Party: Fianna Fáil
Running where? Shannon (Clare County Council)
Education/job: Studying Politics, French and Spanish at University of Limerick
When did you get interested in politics? “From my early teens I’ve always been fascinated by politics”.
Why Fianna Fáil? “[It is] a very broad church… other parties can be far more regimental and don’t always allow people to express themselves. It’s also a centrist party… I feel it’s the right place to actually get things accomplished.”
Big issues for young people? “Housing is a massive issue. It will dominate this election and general election. I think the Government is doing a great job but there is lots more work to be done.”
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “I am an ambitious person… It would be an honour to have a role like that. Of course, it’s so far off in the future it’s almost hard to imagine.”
Political heroes? “Locally, [Fianna Fáil TD] Cathal Crowe… he was my teacher in sixth class and a local councillor… he’s had a massive influence on me.” Elsewhere US Democratic Party congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “has taught a lot of young women… if you want to make a change you’re more than capable of doing it”.
‘Irish people love elections!’
Still less than a year in existence, the Electoral Commission is set for a packed 2024 with local and European elections in June, a referendum in March and strong odds of a general election too before the year is out. Art O’Leary is Chief executive of the Electoral Commission, and he sat down with Hugh Linehan to discuss the logistics and preparation for the year ahead.
Adam Ó Ceallaigh
Age: 21 (22 at election time)
Party: Green Party
Running where? Ballinamore (Leitrim County Council)
Education/job: Studying Geography and Politics at Trinity College Dublin
When did you get interested in politics? Involved in the climate action movement as a teenager.
Why the Green Party? “For the climate.” Also impressed at how the party ran young candidates in the 2019 local elections. “I have been involved in scouting all my life, so youth empowerment is incredibly important to me”.
Big issues for young people? “Housing is vital but it cannot be looked at on its own”. He says there needs to be transport and social outlets and communities in rural Ireland that “young people feel like they can live in… can have a job… meet a partner, raise their kids”.
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “I don’t think anybody should plan that. If you’re given the opportunity to get involved in a party that’s a fantastic privilege in the first place.”
Political heroes? Benedetta Scuderi and Sean Currie of the Federation of Young European Greens who he was impressed with while participating in the organisation’s general assembly.
Saoirse Mackin
Age: 25 (26 at election time)
Party: Social Democrats
Running where? Cork City North-West (Cork City Council)
Education/job: Working in community engagement offering support to groups that help transgender people while studying law at University College Cork
When did you get interested in politics? “The 2014 local elections. I wasn’t a member of a party… I would have just been very interested in politics”.
Why the Social Democrats? She says the party is “the most honest and transparent” and she likes the stance taken by party members during the equality and Repeal referendums.
Big issues for young people? “Housing is a massive problem. I’ve felt first-hand the weight of the housing crisis. Right now I’m very far from any possibility of owning a home”. Also healthcare and the climate crisis.
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “My goal is to make a difference and improve the lives of people in Ireland... rather than trying to chase a particular job.”
Political heroes? “We’ve seen a lot of really good work in the US from the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez… In Ireland Róisín Shortall pioneered Sláintecare… People like that who are there for the greater good.”
James Kearney
Age: 30
Party: The Labour Party
Running where? Killiney-Shankill (Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council)
Education/job: Studied history at University College Dublin and University College London. Worked as an English language teacher. Currently training to be a solicitor.
When did you get into politics? “I went to college around the time the marriage equality campaign. Being a bisexual man… that was something I got involved in… that then spun into Repeal, again something I marched for”.
Why Labour? “It made sense as a natural political home,” given the party’s position on those referendums. Also “it’s a party that has… managed to make the lives of people like myself, someone who comes from a very working-class background, easier.”
Big issues for young people? “People call the housing crisis the everything crisis because of the knock-on effects… on mental health or people trying to start families”.
Do you want to be Taoiseach some day? “It’s not something that has crossed my mind, no.”
Political heroes? “President Michael D Higgins… a moral centre for the country in a lot of ways, [he] is very inspiring and a person to look up to.”
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