Saoirse McHugh

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Saoirse McHugh (born 23 June 1990)[1][2] is an Irish environmentalist and former Green Party politician. From Achill Island in County Mayo, she holds degrees in genetics and sustainable agriculture.

McHugh was a Green Party candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland, the 2020 Irish general election and 2020 Seanad election. She was unsuccessful in each case.

She has described herself as "an environmentalist, a democratic socialist, and a grower",[3] and her political goal as "some beautiful eco-socialist utopia".[4] She left the Green Party in July 2020.

Personal life

Born in the United States,[5] McHugh moved aged two to her father John's native village of Dooagh on Achill Island, where she was raised.[6][7] As of 2020, she lived on Achill with her partner Colm Cafferkey, also an Achill native.[4]

She holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in genetics from University College Dublin and a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Lancaster University.[4][3]

She has spoken publicly about her difficulty with

bulimia,[8] which began when she was 13 years old.[7] She did not seek medical assistance for the bulimia until she was in her twenties, and described her first meetings with doctors as "awful experiences".[8]

Political career

2019 European Parliament election

McHugh first stood for political office at the 2019 European Parliament election, as a Green Party candidate in the Midlands–North-West constituency.[9] She was motivated to stand by her view of the need to combat climate change, saying that "we are running out of time".[6] Her aunt's home in Achill had been destroyed by a storm in 2014, and McHugh began lobbying politicians of all parties to take action.[6] However, when she lamented to Green Party leader Eamon Ryan that her efforts had little effect, Ryan persuaded her that the remedy was stand for election herself.[6][10] Ryan later took a bet on her election, staking €50 on odds of 50/1.[11]

McHugh had only recently joined the Green party, and made little impact in the election until an

RTÉ television debate in the final days of the campaign,[12] when she challenged independent candidate Peter Casey.[13] "Millionaires blaming migrants is an old trope and it's boring," said McHugh. She also jokingly advised Casey to "go on Dancing with the Stars if you want attention that much."[14]

On election night, opinion polls showed McHugh having 12% of the first-preference vote; this was described by the media as "unexpected", because McHugh was a first-time candidate.[15] This opinion polling was associated with a "Green Wave", which saw increased support for the Green Party at the time.[16] In the election itself, McHugh received 51,019 (8.58%) first-preference votes, placing her sixth out of seventeen candidates.

2019 Seanad by-election

There was speculation from some party members that McHugh would run for the

Seanad seat on the Agricultural Panel which fell vacant in May 2019 when Green Party senator Grace O'Sullivan won a seat in the European Parliament.[2] Several senior Greens praised her ability to "attract cross-party support", and believed that a seat in the Seanad would help her to win a seat in Dáil Éireann at the next general election.[5]

McHugh had support from party leader Eamon Ryan, who said he would "love it" if she was elected.[5] He described her as "hugely talented and committed particularly around the issues of rural development, farming and food policy".[17]

However, Pippa Hackett, a councillor on Offaly County Council, received the party's nomination to compete for that position,[18] and was elected unopposed.[19] Later in 2019, McHugh stated that she was opposed to a coalition government between the Green Party and Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.[20]

2020 elections

McHugh was nominated in the Mayo constituency for the Green Party at the 2020 general election. She finished seventh in the four-seat constituency, receiving 6.5% of the first-preference vote.[21] She also contested the March 2020 Seanad election as the only Green Party candidate on the five-seat Cultural and Educational Panel, polling second on the first count, but was not elected.[22] In December 2020, she recalled how some Green Party Teachtaí Dála (TDs) had refused to vote for her, while people from other parties had promised her a lower preference vote.[23]

Resignation from Green Party

In June 2020, the party leadership proposed the draft programme for government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to a vote of the membership. McHugh opposed the proposal, stating that it was not "Greener business as usual", and that "a true Green New Deal recognizes that action to combat climate change will not be successful unless it simultaneously ushers in social and economic reforms that will distribute opportunity more fairly and tackle inequality".[24][25][26]

McHugh left the Green Party the following month, along with other young members.

party's leadership election, and the party's deputy leader Catherine Martin, who had narrowly failed in her leadership challenge, asked "Why are we losing good people, and what can we do to change that? Maybe we have to reform the party in some way".[32] Later in 2020, other prominent younger Greens also left the party.[33]

Described by

rewilding.[34][35][36]

She is contesting the 2024 European Parliament election as an independent candidate in the Midlands–North-West constituency.[37]

References

  1. ^ McHugh, Saoirse [@saoirse_mchugh] (22 June 2021). "Anyways I'm 31 tomorrow" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^
    ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Saoirse McHugh - About". saoirsemchugh.ie. Saoirse McHugh. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020.
  4. ^
    ISSN 0332-0847. Archived
    from the original on 11 April 2020.
  5. ^
    Kildare Nationalist. 6 June 2019. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d McGreal, Edwin (22 January 2019). "Achill woman running for Europe". The Mayo News. Westport. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019.
  7. ^
    ISSN 0039-5218. Archived
    from the original on 31 January 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Saoirse McHugh speaks out on 'awful experiences' while seeking help for bulimia". Newstalk. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Candidates for European election". Mayo Returning Officer. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Eamon Ryan on Saoirse McHugh". Newstalk. 25 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022 – via YouTube.
  11. ISSN 0021-1222
    .
  12. ^ Staines, Michael; White, Barry (25 May 2019). "Saoirse McHugh – 'Green Wave' voters demanding "top-down change" on climate". NewsTalk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. ISSN 0021-1222. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  14. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  15. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 19 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  16. ^ Fitzgerald, Cormac (25 May 2019). "Green Party surge". TheJournal.ie. Dublin. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  17. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  18. ^ Commins, Michael (24 September 2019). "Ballindine native looks set to secure Senate seat". The Mayo News. Westport. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020.
  19. ^ "Green Party's Pippa Hackett elected to the Seanad". RTÉ News. 1 November 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  20. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Mayo: 2020 General Election". Irelandelection.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  22. ^ McNulty, Anton (31 March 2020). "Chambers elected to Seanad, McHugh misses out again". The Mayo News. Westport. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Ryan, Órla (26 December 2020). "Interview: Saoirse McHugh on why being able to say 'I told you so' gives her no comfort whatsoever". TheJournal.ie. Dublin. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  24. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  25. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  26. ^ Wall, Eva (16 June 2020). "Former Fianna Fail deputy leader Eamon O Cuiv and Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh to vote against programme for Government". extra.ie. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  27. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  28. ^ McHugh, Saoirse [@saoirse_mchugh] (23 July 2020). "Thread on leaving the greens: I have left the Green Party. I doubt that's a surprise to most people" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ McHugh, Saoirse [@saoirse_mchugh] (23 July 2020). "The @JTG_ie are an affiliate group that has been set up. While I am not involved with them anymore (I couldn't stomach being affiliated with the greens) I support and understand what they are doing" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  30. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived
    from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  31. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  32. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  33. ISSN 1393-9564. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022.
  34. ^ McHugh, Saoirse (16 August 2021). "Rewilding is one of the best solutions we have in fight against climate collapse". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  35. Sunday Business Post. Archived
    from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  36. ^ Crosson, Kayle (28 May 2021). "Saoirse McHugh on rural Ireland & climate action". Green News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  37. ^ "Nominations for European Election". Galway City Returning Officer. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
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