Birr Sinn Féin Local Election Convention postponed for 2nd time

THE Birr Cumann of Sinn Féin has postponed its Local Election Convention for the second time.
The first Convention was due to be held in Dooly's Hotel on November 24 and the second in the Marian Hall on February 8 but both were called off at the last moment.
Sinn Féin in Offaly is putting forward four candidates for the Local Elections, which may take place on June 7. There will be two candidates from Tullamore, Aoife Masterson and one other; one candidate from Edenderry, Claire Murray, and one candidate from Birr, Seán Maher. The Birr candidate is the only one of the four who hasn't yet been formally put forward in a Convention setting. Teresa Bracken was put forward in Tullamore but this week she announced she was withdrawing from the race.
Sinn Féin will also be running one candidate during the General Election, which must take place by March 2025. The party hasn't yet chosen a candidate for this. The former Laois / Offaly constituency has been disbanded. Offaly will be its own three seater constituency.
Despite the setback of another Convention being postponed, Seán Maher said he's feeling confident and the Birr Cumann is in a strong place. “Sinn Fein in Offaly is strongest in the south of the county. Despite our Convention not being held yet, we have been out doing a lot of canvassing.”
There are six SF Cumanns in the county, three of them in the south - the Michael Larkin Cumann in Birr, the Peter Barnes Cumann in Banagher, and the Seán Lyons Cumann in Rath / Kinnitty.
In the north of the county there's the Matthew Kane Cumann in Tullamore; and the Rhode and Edenderry Cumanns.
“We really feel that, despite the polls going down,” said Seán, “the party is on the march, and that in the not too distant future we will be in a position to bring about the Ireland which we all deserve.
“Sinn Féin will go into the Local Elections in June of this year upbeat and confident of doing well.
“We hope to at least reverse the disastrous result of the 2019 Local Elections that left the Party without a Sinn Féin representative on Offaly County Council. Offaly Sinn Féin is currently finalising our team to contest this year’s Local and European Elections and we hope to make an announcement very shortly. There's also a plan to contest the new three-seater constituency in Offaly following the divorce with long time neighbour Laois. Offaly is seen as a target seat for Sinn Féin in the forthcoming General Election.”
Seán pointed out that the Housing crisis remains the number one issue for the party in Offaly, with the recent RTB report showing rents increasing 14% year on year for new tenants in a three-bedroom house. He said Sinn Féin will prioritise this sector with control measures resulting in the freezing of rent increases and giving back one month's rent to tenants under a Sinn Fein Government. He said they will also introduce a bill on no fault evictions.
“The biggest Landlord and responsibility for housing in the County is the local authority. Sinn Féin Councillors will work with the Council executive to bring about affordable housing for working people, and to increase the local housing stock to reflect the increasing population.”
He promised that Sinn Féin in Government will “end the plight of generations living in overcrowded and unsuitable accommodation.
“If given the mandate Sinn Féin will diverge away from the current government policy of over dependency on the private sector to resolve the housing crisis and bring back the concept of the family home.”