Category Archives: Irish political parties

Are we nearly there yet? 1916 – 2016 Equality for Women 100 years on

Posted on by

Hannah & Francis Sheehy Skeffington
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, who devoted her life to campaigning for the rights of women and Ireland’s independence.
Seminair, Friday 12th June 2015   10.00am – 1.00pm in Institute of Technology Sligo

Keynote speaker: Micheline Sheehy Skeffington

Micheline is the grand-daughter of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, a leading feminist suffragette and campaigner in the early 20th century and founder of the Irish Women’s Franchise League in 1908.  Micheline will speak about Hanna’s life, her ideals and her influence on the suffrage movement in particular. She will also talk about the recent gender equality case she won at the Equality Tribunal against NUI Galway for failure to promote her to Senior Lecturer.

Dr. John Pender, Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Technology Sligo

Women and politics today, nationally and in the North West

Councillors in conversation with Michael Daly, Editor-in-Chief, Donegal Democrat

The following councillors will contribute to the discussion on equality and speak about their experiences of being a Councillor and aspirations for their future political career.

Sligo Cllrs. Sinead Maguire (Fine Gael) and Marie Casserly (Independent)

Leitrim Cllrs. Finola Armstrong McGuire (Fine Gael)

Sinead Guckian (Fianna Fáil) and Donegal Cllr. Niamh Kennedy (Independent)

This seminar, being organised by 5050 North West in conjunction with the Institute of Technology Sligo, will discuss how far we have come and how far we have yet to go to achieve equality for women. It will also provide an opportunity to honor and be inspired by the radical activism of our sisters 100 years ago.

RSVP: 5050northwest@gmail.com or contact NCCWN- Donegal Women’s Network, donwomnet@eircom.net  074 9722790 and North Leitrim Women’s Centre at nlwrg@eircom.net  071 9856220 by Wednesday 10th June.

5050 North West is a branch of the 5050 Group, a national advocacy group dedicated to achieving equal representation in Irish politics. It comprises individuals from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim and is supported by The National Collective of Community Based Women’s Networks-Donegal Women’s Network and the North Leitrim Women’s Centre.

Averil Power resigns from Fianna Fáil

Posted on by

Senator Averil Power has announced her resignation from Fianna Fáil. She cites ongoing disillusionment with the party on equality issues. Averil was a great supporter of 5050 and was very involved in promoting greater female representation within Fianna Fáil. It is a blow that she has decided to leave Fianna Fáil. Fianna Fáil has a weak record on promoting women within their own ranks. The last local elections saw Fianna Fáil select only 17.1% female candidates. This does not bode well for them fulfilling the gender quota of 30% for the next general election. Senator Power was dissatisfied with the party’s efforts in the Marriage Equality referendum. She maintains that the party is not committed to equality and do not show leadership on promoting true equality. Proof 0f the pudding is in the eating. Fianna Fáil needs to step up to the plate when it comes to fulfilling the quota. Gender balance in political representation cannot wait any longer.