County Roscommon teenager to contest local elections

A County Roscommon teenager, one of the youngest candidates to run for council elections across the country, has been selected by Sinn Féin to run for the party.

Eighteen-year-old Sam Brooks will run for the party in the Athlone Local Electoral Area.

Sam, from Taughmaconnell, was selected at a convention held in Taughmaconnell Community Centre on Friday evening last.

Sam recently served as Chair of Roscommon Comhairle na nÓg where the group presented its project to Roscommon County Council and received the unanimous backing of local councillors. He will run alongside Joe Harney, who is also running for the party in the Athlone LEA.

Speaking at the convention, Sam said: “I am excited to be standing here officially as a candidate for June’s local elections. The next nine weeks are going to be tough, it is going to be an uphill battle to get to every voter and convince them of our message, but this is a fight worth fighting.

“There are so many issues locally that frankly have not been adequately addressed and we need to get out there and show that we will fight for these issues if elected in June.

“Flooding in Lough Funshinagh and across South Roscommon is a massive issue for farmers and local residents. Public transport especially with the cancellation of Aircoach’s Galway-Dublin Airport service has jumped to the top of the priority list. Rural decline outside of public transport, including the closure of rural garda stations, post offices, and other businesses have devastated local areas across the county. These and so many more issues need to be addressed and tackled as we move into this election season.

“All I am asking is that people across South Roscommon give me a chance to step up. I have personally brought local issues such as public transport and mental health to the council chamber, Leinster House, and local media all without being an elected representative. I only ask that people let me continue that work as a councillor. If elected it would truly be an honour and privilege to represent South Roscommon in the council,” he said.

Also addressing the convention, local TD Claire Kerrane said: "I am delighted to see a young person from a rural community stepping up to run for Sinn Féin in the upcoming local elections.

"Sam is exactly the kind of candidate that can make a difference at council level - he is young, articulate, full of energy and enthusiasm and most importantly, he cares about the community he comes from.

"We now have a team of six candidates across the county running for Sinn Féin. This is the largest number of candidates we have ever run for local elections and in doing so, we are providing an opportunity to the people in every part of the county to elect a Sinn Féin councillor, who will work to represent them and deliver for their community. “The record of our only sitting councillor for the last 20 years Cllr Michael Mulligan speaks for itself and I hope people will give Sinn Féin a chance in the upcoming elections,” said Deputy Kerrane.