Five women have been elected to Waterford City and County Council, which, although still small numbers, is a breakthrough on the long-time male-dominated Waterford Council, where in 2019 only two women were returned by the electorate.
The gender split on Waterford City and County Council.
Lola O’Sullivan (Fine Gael) topped the poll in Tramore-City West, Joeanne Bailey (Sinn Féin) took a seat in City South on her first bid for election - she was coopted onto Council during the last term, Mary Roche brought home a seat for the Social Democrats, a first in Waterford, while Niamh O’Donovan (Fine Gael) snatched victory in Lismore at the expense of outgoing long-time councillor Declan Doocey.
Catherine Burke kept Sinn Féin’s seat in Portlaw-Kilmacthomas (former party member Declan Clune, now Independent, also got elected in that area).
Cllrs Catherine Burke and Mary Roche, who were both elected. Photo: Joe Evans
As the count took place at SETU Arena, the Waterford News & Star spoke to several women in public office about the current state of gender equity in Government.
There was a general consensus that the political realm is too often fraught with harassment towards women. Waterford TD and Minister for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler (Fianna Fáil) said: “I was first elected to Council in 2014, I took the third seat of six in the Comeragh area, which is a five-seater now. There were four women of 32 councillors.
Minister Mary Butler, at SETU Arena for the Local Election Count 2024. Photo: Joe Evans
“I’ll always remember when I went to the Dáil in 2016, I was the chair of an Oireachtas committee, I chaired many, many meetings for the Oireachtas Commission of Business Enterprise and Innovation. Often I was the only female in the room.”
She pointed towards the heightened scrutiny that women in office receive.
“I personally believe that social media and the abuse women get is definitely a deterrent. Men can run and there’s never a comment on what they’re wearing and how they look. But there will always be a comment in relation to female candidates on their weight, their hair, what they’re wearing, how they look. That’s hard on people.”
Cllr Lola O'Sullivan, Fine Gael, who was elected on the first count, topping the poll, pictured with her sister Grace O'Sullivan. Photo: Joe Evans
Outgoing MEP Grace O’Sullivan (Green Party), who is waiting on the outcome of the counts at Nemo Rangers in Cork on whether she will retain her European Parliament seat, spoke about her party’s position on gender parity but also the coarsening of public discourse.
She said: “The Greens were one of the few parties that had 50/50 representation, more or less. From my perspective it’s something we need to strive for, much more. We need to acknowledge that if you want to have fair representation, if you want to have equality, we’re still a long way off.”
Grace continued: “We have a strong history of good strong women in politics. And we need more, certainly as we see a shift towards male masculinity and the pushback against women.
Grace described this situation as “a bit of a shame”.
“There’s a lot of toxicity there. It is not conducive to women stepping forward. So we need to make sure that we legislate thoroughly to make sure that we do have a gender balance and that we have diversity in politics as well.”
As the count progressed into Sunday, multiple female candidates were eliminated, while others fought for a seat.
Cllr Mary Roche shared her thoughts on her own situation as she waited for the counts to come in for her constituency of Waterford City East. Similarly to Minister Butler, Mary has often been in the lonely position of being the only woman in a room of power.
A relieved Cllr Mary Roche, pictured with her family at SETU Arena after her reelection. Photo: Joe Evans
Mary had been an Independent councillor for years (and prior to that a Fianna Fáil party member) before joining Social Democrats in late 2022. She briefly stepped away from politics to look after her elderly mother, who has sadly since passed away, and didn’t contest the 2019 local elections but returned to Council when she was coopted in place of Matt Shanahan after his election to the Dáil in 2020.
“I think I’d rather be pessimistic and surprised rather than optimistic and kicked in the guts!” she said as she awaited the outcome of the numerous counts on Sunday. “So, I’m pessimistic enough about the chances of holding that seat, which would be a pity because it means there would be no woman in that ward and I have held that seat for, more or less, 25 years, 10 years on my own as the only woman on the Council, in fact, at the time.”
In the end, it was Mary’s day on Sunday, at the expense of the Green Party’s Jody Power, and she took the first seat for the Social Democrats in Waterford.
She was disappointed that the vote for women was not higher in Waterford.
“The vote for women hasn’t come through which is disappointing, but look, that’s the way it goes, it’s the electorate’s vote and they may do with it what they please.”
A triumphant Niamh O'Donovan, Fine Gael, who won the seat, which had also been contested by her party colleague, and outgoing councillor, Declan Doocey. Photo: Joe Evans
Nonetheless, she was glad to see a few fellow candidates succeed: “Lola (O’Sullivan) did very well in Tramore-Waterford City West, she topped the polls, which is great to see a woman top the poll, it’s reasonably unusual. Niamh O’Donovan (Fine Gael) down in Lismore has done quite well, which is great to see a new woman candidate coming in there, congratulations to her.”
Catherine Burke, Sinn Féin, who was elected in the Portlaw-Kilmacthomas LEA, pictured celebrating at SETU Arena. Photo: Joe Evans
First-timer Catherine Burke later returned a seat for Sinn Féin in Portlaw-Kilmacthomas, while Joeanne Bailey succeeded in doing likewise in City South, marking progress on the dismal two female return of 2019.
Of those outgoing female councillors who didn’t make it, Cllr Mary Roche said: “Cristíona Kiely (Greens) is a really excellent candidate in Tramore so it is very disappointing to see her going, as is Stephanie Keating (Fianna Fáil) in our Ward.
She added, “It’s gutting to see vote collapse, you think that, in my case at least, 25 years of keeping your shoulder to the wheel would count for something.”
A delighted Joeanne Bailey, Sinn Féin, after being elected. Photo: Joe Evans
But politics is a contrary thing, which men and women will attest to, including fellow ward member Cllr Jim D’Arcy, who waited in the long grass after losing out in 2014 to finally return a seat this time. In politics, once the counting is done, the way the numbers stacked up rapidly becomes old news, and as Mary takes her seat for the Social Democrats in Waterford another new political era is ushered in.
