Search

06 Oct 2025

Offaly Social Democrats councillor reveals she hopes to run for Dail

Holly Cairns Clare Claffey John McNamee

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns (right) with Cllr Clare Claffey and council candidate John McNamee, Edenderry, at the Bridge Centre sign wishing Offaly U20 hurlers luck (Picture, Ger Rogers)

THE Social Democrats will run two candidates in next year's local elections in Offaly and the party is seeking a third.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns TD introduced Banagher councillor Clare Claffey and a new candidate, John McNamee, Edenderry, when she visited Tullamore on Thursday.

Deputy Cairns also issued a call to the people of the Tullamore Electoral Area to join the party and consider running for election.

Cllr Claffey, elected to Offaly County Council for the first time in 2019, revealed that she would like to contest the next Dail election for the Social Democrats.

Originally formed by two Independent TDs and another who left the Labour Party, the Social Democrats have been led since March by Deputy Cairns, a 33-year-old Cork woman who was first elected as a councillor in 2019 and won a seat in the Dail in 2020.

Looking to next year's local elections, Deputy Cairns said: “We're hoping to have candidates all over the country.

“If you are interested in running for election, please get in touch with us because honestly I certainly felt before I went into politics that it's for someone else, that you needed a special qualification or invitation to be involved. And that's not the case.

“We need more people who might not necessarily have been in politics but might have experienced politics. I'm looking for people like me who might feel frustrated with the current system and want to see a change.”

Deputy Cairns was motivated to become involved in politics having campaigned for change in the marriage and abortion referendums.

From a farming background in Lisheen, rural west Cork in “the middle of nowhere” and “15 miles from the main road”, she formed a branch of the Social Democrats with two other women.

She said her success in getting elected to the council and the Dail shows that rural parts of the country are not necessarily conservative.

Having met Clare Claffey shortly after they won council seats, she said they immediately “clicked”. Like Deputy Cairns, Cllr Claffey had campaigned for the repeal of the eighth amendment.

“She's in a similar constituency to mine, they're both very rural. We both had been canvassing for social referendums and heard a lot of 'Rural Ireland is conservative by default' and I think we both had more than a feeling from our canvassing that it wasn't, and that there was an appetite for something more progressive and a more positive change in our areas. And [people were] feeling maybe unrepresented,” she said.

“We're trying to grow around the country and I'm really ambitious about how we can do. But I need the candidates so I'm asking people to get involved. We also need the canvassers. We need all of those different things. As a new party we have the positives that go with that but we don't have the well oiled political machine around the country.”

While her policy priorities are much broader now that she is leading a political party which currently has six TDs and 22 councillors, she remains concerned about access to abortion and believes the three-day waiting period should be scrapped.

“It's not based on any evidence or science and it disproportionately impacts on women who live in rural areas because you've to travel much further to get to two appointments.”

She also argues for a reduction in the number of schools which have church patronage. She was not baptised herself and describes her parents as people with no religion.

“I went to the local Catholic school but I wasn't any religion. I had a lovely school, my parish priest is so lovely. We all have neighbours and friends who are Catholic and we never want to offend any members of the Catholic church.”

She said a particular religious ethos should not be part of the State education system but stressed that does not make her someone who is against religion or Catholicism.

“It's about everybody having the right to have their religious beliefs and worship and I really strongly believe that. But it's about that not being in our education system.”

She noted the 2022 census which indicates 69% of the population described themselves as Catholic.

“The census is showing that change and as usual we find that the Government never leads on a change. They always have to be dragged along by the people.”

As a rural-based politician (her mother runs an organic seed business on a 35-acre holding which was formerly dairy and beef) she has strong views on how successive governments led by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have shaped agricultural policy.

“The thing that bothers me about Irish politics a lot is they've driven a policy which has put small farms out of action and then they claim that climate action will decimate Irish farms. I [say to them] your policy has decimated small family farms. Climate change will decimate them even more. Climate action shouldn't be contradictory to small family farms. The opposite should be the case.”

She says the EU nature restoration law “has to be done” and returns again to her theme of how areas outside the cities are perceived.

“There's a narrative spun that we in rural Ireland are all against climate action and that's one of the things that bothers me. It's as if they think we don't understand the consequences. And farmers for the most part are more in touch with the environment and nature than anybody else.

“I speak to farmers all the time who recognise the need for urgent climate action. What we need is fair climate action. So instead of foisting things on communities without consultation and engagement it's about doing it with them.”

To those big farmers who are opposed to the EU proposal she says: “I would say what is your plan for when we don't reduce emissions, when we keep degrading soil quality, keep losing biodiversity? What's the plan for agriculture then? That's what I'd like to know because there is no alternative to taking climate action.”

She accused the Fianna Fail MEP from Cork, Billy Kelleher, of “scaremongering” in his comments opposing the EU plan.

“All of the rewetting will take place on State-owned land anyway. So no one is going to be forced to rewet land who is a private landowner.”

She worked in disability services in Malta before getting into politics back at home and said the Slaintecare single-tier health service policy is an example of how the Social Democrats can help Ireland and its people.

“We spend more per capita on healthcare than any country in Europe and we're the only one without a universal healthcare system. It's classic Fianna Fail and Fine Gael governments, they put the money from the taxpayer into the pockets of private interests where we could have a public health system where everybody gets a good service.

“That's why we need a left of centre government. That's why we exist. I'm not doing this for the craic. And I think a lot of people in Offaly would 100% agree with that.”

She welcomed John McNamee's decision to join the party and contest the next election in the Edenderry Electoral Area.

Mr McNamee is a local man who is well known in the town of Edenderry and beyond for his involvement with the soccer club, Derry Rovers, which now has three pitches and a growing membership, especially at underage level.

“John McNamee is really embedded in his community. He's really passionate about getting more local services,” said Deputy Cairns.

The party leader said she chose Offaly for her first visit as party leader because of her closeness to Cllr Claffey.

“I think she's a brilliant candidate and a brilliant councillor and I'm excited to grow the party in rural areas. I think I'm the only rural party leader in the country and I think it's safe to say [rural areas] need to be more represented.”

She added: “There's a lot of people who would be quite progressive, we saw Clare getting a seat. Hopefully John will have a good shot. A lot of people would like more progressive representation, they recognise that Ireland is changing, the political system is changing and people are asking what kind of change they want.”

Cllr Claffey said she is “definitely considering” standing in the next general election which she hopes will not take place before the 2024 summer council elections.

Explaining why she did not seek a Dail seat in 2020 the mother of seven said: “I felt I didn't have the experience. I was only elected a few months to the council and it was people in my own local area that I had been looking for votes from.”

She added: “I feel now with four years under my belt I have a little bit more experience but even still, every day is a learning day.

“We need a party like the Social Democrats. We need a social democratic party in government. We could do better, get better public services, especially here in Offaly where you see the closure of the briquette factory.

“We understand we need to do better environmentally but the people have to be at the forefront of that. I'd love to be there at the decision making table because we can all sit around our own kitchen table and give out but we do need to do something. A better life for the kids. It's a lovely country. I love my country, Banagher and Offaly and I know it could be so much better, it has so much potential and I'd love to be a part of bringing that about.”

Asked to comment on her party's ambitions for a Dail seat in Offaly, Deputy Cairns said: “I really think we've a good strong chance of a Dail seat in this area but my focus at the moment is on the local elections and I hope that will build us a foundation for the general election.”

She also said she would like to see Cllr Claffey contesting the next general election. “Being from a very rural area myself I know we need more representation.”

Deputy Cairns said people should not fear getting involved in the Social Democrats, whether it be as candidates, canvassers, leaflet distributors of people keeping tallies at counts.

“We're seeing an upsurge in members which is great but I would like to see more people getting involved,” she said.

“I want to say to people that actually it can be really fun and you can meet lots of likeminded people and you can be really part of a fun and progressive change that I think Ireland can be ready for.”

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!


Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.


Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.