VICE PRESIDENT of Academic Affairs at Mary Immaculate College, Niamh Hourigan (LAB) has been selected as the Labour Party’s candidate for the European elections in the Ireland South constituency.
Limerick native Niamh was selected at a Labour party convention held in the Metropole Hotel in Cork City on Sunday evening. The sociologist said she was honoured to be chosen and hoped to bring the Labour voice to Europe. “I will bring three priorities to Europe: to fight for a Just Transition to a greener economy, Introducing a European Plan for Affordable Housing, and Protecting Irish Neutrality”.
A sister of Dublin Central TD, Neasa Hourigan (GP), Niamh is the daughter of former Mayor of Limerick, Michael Hourigan (FG).
She stated, “I have spent most of my career working within the Ireland South constituency and during that time I have worked intensively to draw attention to inequality and social exclusion through my research and my contributions to the media. As I have conducted my research as a Sociologist over the past two decades I have continued to listen to the concerns on the ground and these insights and concerns have been woven through my publications and are at the heart of all the work I do”.
Niamh who regularly appears on the Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio One added, “Our daily lives are increasingly governed by European policy and protocols and for the past 10 years, those who support the Labour voice and the Labour perspective in Ireland South have had no-one to represent them in Europe. In this particularly politically fractious time, incensed by global conflict, climate change, and significant crises in housing and the cost-of-living, I believe I can be the Labour voice in Europe and can fight to push these crucial policies at a European level”.
Currently Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Mary Immaculate College, Niamh has previously worked as a sociologist in University College Cork and the University of Limerick. She is currently a member of the Teaching Council, a member of the Board of the Central Applications Office (CAO) and a member of the Irish Department of Justice’s Review Team of Civil Legal Aid.
In addition to her extensive academic experience, the mother of two is a widely respected commentator on a variety of themes including value change, minority culture, education, corruption, crime, and community violence. Hourigan worked as a journalist and radio presenter while completing her PhD and is a frequent contributor to national and local media on themes of sociological interest.
Leader of the Labour Party, Ivana Bacik (LAB) welcomed Niamh’s addition as the party’s second candidate in the European elections following the selection of current TD, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (LAB) in the Dublin constituency. “Niamh has a long and proud track record of standing up for social and economic equality and we are determined to see her elected to the European Parliament, to represent the Labour values of equality, solidarity and fairness in Brussels”.
Ivana continued, “This election is crucial for Ireland. Increasingly we see the impact here of laws drafted and agreed at a European level, so we need to ensure that our representatives at European level will fight for a fairer, more sustainable future. And crucially we need to ensure that Ireland will have representation within the Party of European Socialists, the grouping to which Labour MEPs belong. I know that Niamh is absolutely committed to building an Ireland that works for all. Through Niamh’s candidacy, Labour is offering a genuine alternative to people in Ireland South. We want to return Niamh as an MEP to help change the focus of European politics, towards the creation of a more social Union, where workers’ rights, social rights, environmental sustainability and human rights are at the core”.
