Councillor Mary Roche starts general election campaign

Local councillor for Waterford City East, Mary Roche has announced the start of her campaign for the upcoming General Election in the Waterford constituency for the Social Democrats.

Cllr Roche is the former Mayor of Waterford City and is currently a Councillor for Waterford City East. She joined the Social Democrats in 2020 after spending nearly 20 years as an independent member of Waterford City and County Council.

“We don’t know when exactly it will be,” Cllr Roche said of the upcoming General Election, “It could be three months, it could be seven months. But I’m starting campaigning now!” 

“I want to fight for Waterford in the Dáil,” she continued, “I have 25 years of experience as a public representative and have worked my entire life for the betterment of Waterford. 

"I have watched Waterford be spancelled by successive governments, and quite frankly I’m sick of it. So I want to go to the Dáil and try and do something about it.” 

Cllr Roche called for donations to her campaign to enable her to fight for election.

The Councillor was recently selected by the Waterford branch of the Social Democrats to stand in the upcoming election in an uncontested selection convention.

As with her announcement upon joining the Social Democrats, Cllr Roche credited Róisín Shorthall and Catherine Murphy with inspiring her to run for the Social Democrats.

Since first being elected in 1999, the Councillor has campaigned on issues surrounding education, health, local government, as well as social causes. She is the first Social Democrat to be elected in Waterford City East with 7.4% of the first preference vote.