Ring wants south Mayo back in Mayo constituency

DISENFRANCHISED? Voters from villages like Cong in south Mayo could not vote for Mayo based candidates in the 2020 general election


Oisín McGovern

MAYO TD Michael Ring has called for all of South Mayo to become a part of the Mayo DΡil constituency.
Deputy Ring said Mayo people living in the southern-most part of the county felt ‘disenfranchised’ by being in the Galway West constituency.
At the 2020 general election, parts of Mayo including Shrule, Kilmaine, Cong and The Neale were part of the five-seater Galway West region.
The nearest DΡil representative in the area is Fianna FΡil TD Éamon Ó Cuív, who is based in Cornamona.
Deputy Ring stated: “There is going to be a review of the constituencies in Ireland once the Census results are known. I want to see South Mayo returned back to the Mayo Electoral Area. “It was very wrong that the people of South Mayo were put in to the West Galway constituency. The people of South Mayo have no connection with this area. They feel disenfranchised from the political sphere. They want to be in the Mayo electoral area.”
Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday evening), Deputy Ring said he had recently met many Mayo people who were ‘angry’ about being part of the Galway West constituency, which included Ballinrobe at the 2016 general election.
“I was up in South Mayo recently at the opening of a playground that I had provided funding for. I don’t exaggerate, 100 per cent of the people I met that day were angry and annoyed,” he said.
“They are not used to being in West Galway. There is nothing wrong with West Gaway … they are from Mayo and they want to vote in Mayo. They should not be taken out of their own constituency.”