This article is from page 10 of the 2014-04-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
TWO new candidates have entered the race to represent their respective areas on Clare County Council.
The county’s first candidate from the Fís Nua (New Vision) party, Niamh O’Brien will contest the Killaloe Municipal Area, while Noleen Moran will take up the mantle for Sinn Fein in West Clare.
Ms O’Brien said she found herself in politics more by accident than a burning political career.
“I never had an interest in politics, but politics took an interest in me. I wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren in 30 years time when they complain about how bad things are that I tried my best, rather than just sitting there shouting at the television,” she said.
From O’Callaghan Mills, this East Clare woman is a founding member of the first Women’s Shed in the northern hemisphere.
She was also involved in the Know Your Number Campaign and works in a voluntary capacity supporting people with debt issues.
She went to primary school in Kilkishen and secondary school in Tulla and has an honours degree in Law and Business.
In the west, Ms O’Brien from Ballyvaughan has been a member of Sinn Féin for ten years and is the current county secretary.
Throughout her time in Sinn Féin she has been involved in campaigning on a range of different issues and is particularly concerned about the lack of women public representatives, because she believes that “the consequences of austerity and emigration are having a significant impact on the lives of women”.
She was educated at Lisdoonvarna Secondary School and worked in agriculture and in tourism for a time, before continuing to third level, where she attained a degree in Public and Social Policy from NUI Galway and an LLM from the Irish Centre for Human Rights.