Sinn Féin MP and Bobby Sands successor wants to represent Laois people in Europe

A Sinn Féin Member of Parliament in Westminster will soon be seeking the votes of Laois people in her bid to win a seat in the European Parliament.

Michelle Gildernew, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, is wants her party's nomination to be a second candidate in the Midlands Northwest constituency in the upcoming European elections which take place in June.

The Northern Ireland politician holds the seat that was won by Provisional IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands a month before he died in the H-Blocks in 1981.

Ms Gildernew has been an SF public representative in the North for 25 years as an MP and an MLA. She was first elected to the British House of Parliament in 2001. She lost the seat in 2015 but was re-elected in 2017. Like all Sinn Féin MPs, she does not take her seat at Westminster.

"Ireland needs to be at the fore in setting the direction of the European Union in the years ahead and I want to play a role in making that happen, by bringing my experience of negotiation and dealing with EU institutions as a former Agriculture Minister to the job of standing up for Irish interests in the European Parliament," Ms Gildernew said.

Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands Northwest Chris MacManus welcomed that she would be joining him on the ticket.

“Michelle has the skills and experience to be an excellent representative for the Irish people on the European stage.” 
 
“I believe a strong Sinn Féin team can transform the Midlands Northwest. Our region has tonnes of potential but it needs voices that will stand up for workers and families. It is our ambition in Sinn Féin to win two seats in Midlands Northwest and deliver the change that people seek,” he said.

Laois was taken out of the Midlands Northwest constituency at the 2019 European election and included in Ireland South. It will be added back in at the June 2024 European Elections on the recommendation of Ireland's Electoral Commission.

Apart from Mr McManus, the Midlands–North-West is represented in the European Parliament by Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, Independent, Maria Walsh and Colm Markey both Fine Gael.