Conway-Walsh favours two-candidate Sinn Féin election strategy in Mayo

MAYO Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has said she favours her party running two candidates in the five-seat Mayo constituency in the upcoming general election.

At present, Deputy Conway-Walsh is the only Sinn Féin candidate selected to run in the election, which could take place as early as November.

Speaking to The Mayo News from her party’s think-in at the Clayton Hotel in Dublin, Deputy Conway-Walsh said she would like to run alongside Charlestown-based county councillor Gerry Murray.

Cllr Murray has previously said he would ‘seriously consider’ running for the Dáil if asked to do so by his party.

“That’s already been decided, that if there is a second candidate, it will be Gerry Murray,” said Deputy Conway-Walsh. “The numbers are being crunched at the moment, but my preference has been for a long time that we would have a two-candidate strategy. That decision will be made collectively by members in Mayo and the Ard Chomhairle election department.

“My intention all the time is that we don’t leave a seat behind. We need to have sufficient candidates to show that we can lead a government. We want to lead the next government and I think it would be really good in Mayo to have two Sinn Féin TDs.”

Fluctuating support

Deputy Conway-Walsh was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2020 on the first count after receiving 14,796 first-preference votes in a general election that saw a nationwide surge in support for Sinn Féin.

Since then, Mayo has gained an extra seat thanks to the reinstatement of parts of South Mayo to the constituency.

However, support for Sinn Féin has plummeted since 2020, with the party recording an approval rating of 18 percent in a recent Business Post/Red C poll.

Cllr Murray was the only one of ten Sinn Féin candidates to be elected to Mayo County Council in the local elections last June.

Speaking towards the conclusion of the count at the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar, Deputy Conway-Walsh disagreed with the suggestion that her party ran too many candidates in the local elections.

When asked yesterday (Monday) if it would be wise to run two candidates at the upcoming election in light of the party’s drop in support, Deputy Conway-Walsh said that the local elections were ‘very different to general elections’.

“I think there was a low turnout in Mayo and so we have to encourage people to come out to vote in the first instance. And secondly, I would say that people in a general election see it as an opportunity for real change,” she said.

“In the local election you have the issue of incumbency. When you have a county councillor on the ground who’s had probably a million euro over five years to spend on roads and on different things in communities, then it’s very challenging to get new people elected and our candidates probably need another while just to get known in the areas.

“I think people are more focused on the general elections, and that’s what we were getting on the doors as well going around, is that people are really waiting until the general elections.”

Swinford vote

Sinn Féin were denied a second seat in the Mayo County Council chamber when John Sheahan fell one vote short after two recounts in the four-seat Swinford Local Electoral Area.

An investigation was subsequently launched into unstamped ballot papers, which resulted in a number of votes, including nine for Mr Sheahan, being deemed invalid.

Deputy Conway-Walsh said Sinn Féin are still awaiting separate reports from the Irish Electoral Commission and Mayo County Council regarding the matter.

Mr Sheahan received a total 1,636 votes, just one short of Cllr Neil Cruise, who was elected alongside Cllr John Caulfield and Cllr Adrian Forkan without reaching the quota.

“When we get a report back from it, then we’ll be able to make an assessment, but it’s extremely unfortunate that Swinford are left without a councillor despite the majority of people voting for the Sinn Féin candidate in John Sheahan,” said Deputy Conway-Walsh.

“I feel for the people of Swinford being without the representation that they wanted in John Sheahan, clearly, as well as for John himself.”