Editorial: Green warrior bids farewell, for now
A young Grace O'Sullivan aboard a Green Peace ship where she spent many days as an activist before becoming a politician.
Five years ago there was an air of immense anticipation as Waterford’s first MEP was returned in the direct elections for the European Parliament in the Ireland South constituency.
Then Green Party Senator Grace O’Sullivan was Waterford’s only candidate standing in those elections.
This time, similarly, she flew the white and blue flag of the Déise solo, but the tide remained out for Grace, one of a family of eight who grew up in Tramore – and for whom the environment has been close to her heart from her youngest years.
A formidable candidate, she held on until the 18th count at Nemo Rangers count centre in Cork, but while the transfers were substantial for her, they were not enough to bring her past Kathleen Funchion of Sinn Féin and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú of Fianna Fáil.
The only other candidate eliminated after O’Sullivan was outgoing MEP Mick Wallace of Independents4Change. She had totted up a respectable 69,197 votes before succumbing to the vagaries of politics and an electorate that stretches from the Wexford coast all the way to the Atlantic seaboard in Co Kerry.
It was one of many falls for the Green Party across the local and European elections. Outgoing MEP Ciarán Cuffe lost his seat in the Dublin constituency, while, in Waterford, both Green Party councillors lost their seats, Metropolitan Mayor Jody Power and Cristiona Kiely, who had been coopted into Marc Ó Cathasaigh’s place after his election to Dáil Éireann. Ó Cathasaigh topped the poll in the 2019 local elections, riding into power on the so-called ‘green wave’.
O’Sullivan remained resolute in her commitment to her Green Party political credentials as she conceded defeat. “40 plus years of campaigning through rough seas and calm waters, headwinds and tailwinds, good days and bad. The fight continues. Eternally grateful for everyone who put their trust in me. Thank you,” she said on the X (Twitter) social media platform.
On a personal level for O’Sullivan, it is an immense loss to have spent five years grafting in Europe on a job she is passionate about, all the while juggling family and community commitments at home in Tramore. But this is the same woman who went to sea all those years ago with Greenpeace, travelling from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
She joined the high-profile Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in 1985, intent on stopping nuclear tests in the Pacific. Tragedy struck when, on the night of July 10, 1985, a terrorist attack against the ship resulted in the explosion of two mines, killing the ship’s photographer, Fernando Pereira. It was later discovered that the mines had been planted by two members of the French secret service, the DGSE, both of whom were sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Grace’s resolve only strengthened and she continued to work aboard Greenpeace ships, all the while furthering her knowledge and education.
She will regroup after her current defeat. In the meantime, the issues around climate change, on which she has been so vociferous, have not gone away. Waterford and further afield will continue to watch closely and with interest what O’Sullivan does next.
