European candidates identify political shift
23 candidates will run for the European elections in Ireland South, where five seats are to be filled.
On June 7, coinciding with the local elections, voters will also be presented with 23 Ireland South candidates who will contest for five seats in the European Parliament.
Ireland South consists of all Munster counties with four from Leinster, those being Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow.
One of the five outgoing MEPs, Deirdre Clune retires from politics after holding her position in the European Parliament for almost 10 years.
Four of the other outgoing MEPs are seeking reelection: Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party), Mick Wallace (Independents 4 Change), Sean Kelly (Fine Gael) and Billy Kelleher (Fianna Fáil).
O'Sullivan is Waterford's only candidate of the running 23, while at least four of the new candidates have strong links with Limerick, and others with Cork.
The latest trend in politics shows that there's more of a movement toward candidates associated with anti-immigrant and cost-of-living campaigns, which are seen to be linked with the far-right.
Social media plays a huge part in the campaigns of the newly registered political parties, such as the Ireland Freedom Party, Ireland First and The Irish People Party, where live videos are shared of their members' involvement with ongoing protests.
MEP candidates, both construction workers from Cork, Ross Lahive (The Irish People Party) and Derek Blighe (Ireland First) have fueled their campaigns with their strong views on Ireland's intake of refugees. The activists have gained traction on social media and have been linked with destroying LGBTQ+ material in a Cork library during a protest in September of last year, which would lead one to question their belief in the democratic process as the LGBTQ+ community is recognised and supported by the Irish State through democracy.
Sinn Féin has divided the South with Senator Paul Gavan and Kathleen Funchion TD, while Fine Gael's John Mullins and Seán Kelly contest from within close proximity. Fianna Fáil added former RTÉ presenter Cynthia Ní Mhurchú to the ticket, with Labour putting first-time candidate Niamh Hourigan on theirs.
