Following the visit of Sinn Féin President Elect Mary Lou McDonald to Castlewellan recently, South Down MP Chris Hazzard said that his party are looking forward to a new political era in Ireland.
Chris Hazzard welcomed the election of Mary Lou McDonald TD as Uachtarán Shinn Fein at Saturday’s Special Ard Fheis in Dublin.
In November, Gerry Adams TD signalled that after 35 years as the leader of Sinn Féin he would be stepping down as party president and would not be seeking re-election in the next Dáil Éireann election.
Mr Hazzard said: “This year marks some significant milestones in Irish political life. We have recently marked a centenary since the historic 1918 election in which women had the vote for the first ever time; and Sinn Féin’s Countess Markievicz was returned as the first woman MP.
“On Saturday in Dublin, history was made once again as Mary Lou McDonald TD replaced Gerry Adams TD as Sinn Féin leader, pledging herself to leading a vibrant, grassroots party. A party that always forces the pace of social and economic justice, that champions inclusion and human rights in a changing Ireland.”
Mr Hazzard added: “I also welcome the election of Michelle O’Neill MLA as our new Leas Uachtarán… to have two women of such high calibre leading the party shows that we just don’t talk progressive politics… we deliver where it matters.
“We are clearly now entering a new political era and Sinn Féin will continue to be on the frontline leading progressive change to improve the daily lives of ordinary people here in South Down, and across Ireland.”
