Meanwhile back at the Seanad: The Magnificent Eleven… Part I May 20, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics.trackback
Just in the Taoiseach’s nominee’s for the Seanad.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has named his 11 nominees for the Seanad tonight. The list includes Dr Martin McAleese and Fiach MacConghail, director of the Abbey Theatre.
The other nominees include former Olympic athlete Eamon Coghlan, who is a director of the Crumlin Children’s Medical & Research Foundation, Jim Darcy, teacher and member of Louth County Council and Aideen Hayden, solicitor and chairperson of Threshold housing agency.
Also on the list are barrister Lorraine Higgins, teacher Mary Moran, businesswoman and founder of the Jack and Jill Foundation Mary Ann O’Brien, lecturer and broadcaster Marie Louise O’Donnell, Jillian van Turnhout of the Childrens Rights Alliance and Dr Katherine Zappone of the Irish Human Rights Commission.
Interesting. Most eye-catching is the nomination of Martin McAleese, husband of the President. Most interesting though is the political background/inclination of them… anyone know?
Fine Gael:
Jim Darcy, teacher and member of Louth County Council and Aideen Hayden, solicitor and chairperson of Threshold housing agency.
Labour ?
…teacher Mary Moran…
Labour…
Aideen Hayden has served as chairperson of the housing charity Threshold since 1998. She was a Labour party candidate on the Industrial and Commercial panel in the 2011 Seanad elections.
She is a native of Carlow and lives in Dublin with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Lorraine Higgins a barrister and practices on the western circuit. She is also a membership officer with Junior Chamber International Galway.
She received over 3,500 first preference votes in the constituency of Galway East in the 2011 general election. She also stood unsuccessfully as a Labour party candidate on the Industrial and Commercial panel in the subsequent Seanad elections.
More on this when there’s time to digest it properly.
Higgins, Moran, Hayden are labour as is zappone – Higgins stood in galway east, Moran stood in louth, Hayden stood for Seanad
and Dr Katherine Zappone of the Irish Human Rights Commission.
Sparks will fly with “curiously still unmarried” Senator Mullen, I fear.
Will she and Sen. Bacik double team on Sen. Mullen in the best of the Greco-Roman debating traditions of the Seanad?
Jillian van Turnhout of the Childrens Rights Alliance
Ex-WP?
Thanks…
So, that confirms that… Mr Gilmore said his four candidates were Dr Katherine Zappone, Aideen Hayden, Lorraine Higgins and Mary Moran.
All Gilmore, all Labour.
Has Zappone taken Irish citizenship then?
She has a civil marriage to an Irish citizen (?)
Rather pointedly, no, she hasn’t in the eyes of the Irish law. Their Canadian marriage is recognised as (i.e. reduced to) an Irish civil partnership, and they are waiting a hearing in the Supreme Court on this .
And even if civil partnership with an Irish citizen entitles one to apply for Irish citizenship, that does not mean she applied for it.
Irrelevant to this thread, but just as a point of fact, post-nuptial Irish citizenship doesn’t exist any more. Anyone married to an Irish citizen, who wants to claim Irish citizenship (if not otherwise entitled to it by birth etc) has to do it through naturalisation, although the required period of residence in Ireland is lower for them that it is for non-married people going through the naturalisation process.
I was wondering that too, as it was merely reported in the press that she is Canadian. I can only presume that this was 100% nailed down after the Karin Dubsky situation.
I am American – Irish. I was born in Washington State, USA and became an Irish citizen in 1995. I hold dual citizenship. KZ
Thanks for the clarification…
The Irish Times said Zappone is Canadian. So much for the paper of record’s quality research.
Surely it’s a foregone conclusion that all of the poverty industry professionals are Labour.
“Poverty industry”? That’s a rather perjorative, right-wing term, isn’t it, Mark?
It’s certainly a pejorative term, and is meant as such.
The ULA, of course, now has more than a couple of affiliates who are participants in the ‘poverty industry’.
Will we be expecting a ‘purge’ there Mark P?
How about when membership is agreed? Will there be a ban on poverty industry types signing up?
The joys of socialist revolutionary posturing in a reformist party structure.
By the way, does the ULA consider it political nepotism to hire one’s partner as one’s dail secretary?
Or is it only political nepotism when other parties do it?
What bizarre responses from our usual multi-pseudonymed friend.
No, you can’t expect any “purges” of NGO or quango employees. No, none of the ULA TDs are engaged in nepotism.
+1
Marie Louis McDonald! The new E Harris
Both parties seem to be using the 11 to boost their chances in Louth at the next general election: