Holly Cairns

Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy have announced they are to step down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats, with a successor to be appointed at an ...

Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Ms Shortall said the Social Democrats was in a very good place and that she believed she had an important role to play in helping the party to grow and choose future candidates. "The time is right now to hand over the leadership reins of the party to the next generation of Social Democrats." Ms Murphy insisted that they were not forced to step down as leaders and that she and Ms Shortall felt that it was the right time for them. Ms Shortall said they were confident that the party will be in "safe hands" and that their decision represented a new stage of development for the Social Democrats, adding that "we are really excited about that". Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy have announced they are to step down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats saying "now is the time to hand over the leadership reins to the next generation".

Cork South West TD Holly Cairns has paid tribute to the co-leaders of the Social Democrats, Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy, following their ...

“If they hadn’t had the courage and vision to start a political party eight years ago there is no way I’d be a TD today,” said Deputy Cairns. It’s a testament to their incredibly hard work that two TDs from Dublin North West and Kildare North are held in such high regard,” she said. Both women said they are not leaving politics and plan to context the next general election.

HOLLY Cairns TD could become the next leader of the Social Democrats.The Cork South West TD will likely be among those party members throwing their hats in ...

She was elected in 2019 on her first bid for the Dáil. The two women announced at a press conference at 3pm that they would be remaining in politics but felt the time was right to hand over the top role to a new, younger, member. Deputy Cairns has one of the highest public profiles in the party but would not be drawn today on her response to reports that she is the most likely candidate for the top job.

The co-leaders of the Social Democrats have announced they are stepping down.Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall confirmed they are resigning with immedia.

The co-leaders of the Social Democrats have announced they are stepping down. Fergus Finlay: I can't see Holly Cairns or Gary Gannon objecting to Ivana Bacik leadership Kieran was joined by Fergus Finlay, Columnist with the Irish Examiner and Hugh O’Connell, Deputy Political Editor with the Irish Independent to discuss...

Ms Murphy, a TD for Kildare North since 2011, and Ms Shortall, a TD for Dublin North West since 1992 and former Labour Party junior minister, founded the Social ...

“I don’t know if it’s appreciated how difficult it is to set up a new political party from scratch,” Ms Murphy said. Ms Murphy said timing was the “absolute main reason” and both insisted that none of their four parliamentary party colleagues asked them to consider their positions. “It’s a quiet enough time in politics,” Ms Shortall said, adding that the party wanted to ensure that the next leader would have time to bed in ahead of the local and European elections in May 2024.

CATHERINE MURPHY AND Róisín Shortall have announced they are stepping down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats, saying that the time is right to hand over ...

Shortall was previously a junior health minister in the 2011 Fine Gael-Labour coalition. “It takes a while to come to a decision that you definitely want change and that now is the right time for that,” Shortall said. “As the Social Democrats continue to develop and grow, Catherine and I have decided that the time is right now to hand over the leadership reins of the party to the next generation of Social Democrats,” Shortall said. “We have therefore notified our National Executive that we are stepping down as joint leaders and we have requested that they make arrangements for the election of a new leader and and we expect that this will take place at an early date.” At a press conference this afternoon, Murphy and Shortall confirmed that they would be stepping down from their leadership role and that a new leader would be elected by the party at an “early date”. CATHERINE MURPHY AND Róisín Shortall have announced they are stepping down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats, saying that the time is right to hand over the “leadership reins”.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon is set to throw his support behind Holly Cairns for the leadership of the party after Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall ...

Ms Murphy also said their decision was not linked to the resignation last month of Galway councillor Owen Hanley over allegations about the use of a fake social media account. Ms Shortall said both she and Ms Murphy would continue in politics, and they both answered “that’s the plan” when asked if they would contest the next election in their constituencies of Dublin North West and Kildare North respectively. The resignations of Ms Murphy and Ms Shortall have been planned for some time despite both publicly declaring last June that they intended to lead the Social Democrats into the next election.

The co-leaders of the Social Democrats, Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy announced yesterday that they are to stand down. A question mark had long hung over ...

Gannon was elected to Dublin City Council in 2014 before joining the party in 2015. Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon is also understood to be considering throwing his hat in the ring. Cairns was previously a councillor for the Social Democrats who won her seat for the party in 2019 by just one vote. Cairns won a Dáil seat for Cork South West in the 2020 general election. She is a farmer and a small business owner. Shortall and Murphy founded the party in 2015, alongside Stephen Donnelly, who later left before joining Fianna Fáil in 2017.

And as the SocDems head towards the next general election with the possibility of joining a left-of-center, progressive coalition, Deputy Cairns could have a ...

Apart from Gary Gannon, her other rivals will be the SocDems other TDs, Dublin Fingal’s Cian O’Callaghan and Wicklow’s Jennifer Whitmore. And party insiders believe her strong rural background, combined with her outspoken support for progressive policies for women, on the environment and for housing and education, gives her broad appeal for younger voters who are expected to big say in the next general election. Born in 1989, the Cork South-West TD who has built a national profile will become one of the youngest - if not the youngest - leader of a main political party in the history of Irish politics after the decision by joint leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall to resign in favour of new blood.

The firebrand socialist has become well known for her views on issues such as the Mother and Baby Homes scandal.

She is originally from Mizen, Co Cork and has been a longstanding community activist in the area. The firebrand socialist has gone from strength to strength as a TD with a series of string media performances. Before she entered the Co-leaders of the party Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall announced they were standing down at a press conference yesterday. [Dublin Live Newsletter](https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/sign-up-newsletter-today-17954403) to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox. However, there hasn't been a new episode uploaded since November last year.

SOCIAL Democrats TD Holly Cairns is considering bidding for the leadership of the party as at least one TD has ruled themselves out of the race.

"It was a big day yesterday. However, Independent.ie understands Mr Gannon is likely to back Ms Cairns in the coming days to lead the party into the next general election. SOCIAL Democrats TD Holly Cairns is considering bidding for the leadership of the party as at least one TD has ruled themselves out of the race.