I am originally from London, now living in Limerick, and I represent Limerick City West Electoral Area in the Metropolitan District. I was first elected to Limerick City and County Council in 2019.
I grew up in Cricklewood in North West London to Irish parents and returned to my father’s native Limerick when I was 16.
The 2019 local elections was my first time putting myself forward for election, and I was immensely proud to be elected. I am the only woman elected in my constituency of Limerick City West and I work hard to represent the women of my area as much as I can. The people of Limerick City West showed great trust in me as a newcomer into politics and I have worked every day since to live up to that trust.
I put myself forward for election as I feel that politics can be done differently, and in my campaign I promised to do politics with transparency, accountability and integrity.
There are only nine women councillors in Limerick City and County Council. There are no women TDs at all representing our city and county, and in the whole of Munster there are only four women TDs. Covid-19 has shown us all very clearly that we need more women and diverse voices at decision making tables. This starts at local level and therefore we need to prioritise ways to, not only encourage women from diverse backgrounds to run and participate in all aspects of politics, but also to keep the ones we have and make political spaces safe for women to work in.