Constituency: Wicklow-Wexford

A former teacher who is married to Dan and has two grown up children, Sinead Boland is a fierce advocate for the right to life at all stages and wants to fight for the peaceful resolutions to conflict both at home and abroad. Hailing from the Glencap area of south Bray, she is a dedicated environmentalist, and is supportive of measures to reduce the environmental and climate impact of pollution, waste and single-use plastics.

Fine Gael candidate Brian Brennan lives in Gorey with his wife and two children and has spent most of his working life in Arklow. For years, he ran his family’s pub and restaurant, The 64, in Gorey, and spent nearly 20 years in Arklow as the owner of the Arklow Bay Hotel, operating the Brennan Hotel Group and employing over 600 people. He is actively involved with his local community in areas such as GAA, soccer, and rugby clubs in both Wicklow and north Wexford. He founded the Ireland Sri Lanka Orphanage Fund following the devastation of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004 and currently operates six orphanages and a training college in Sri Lanka. He also runs a hospitality consultancy business in Ireland.

The Fianna Fáil man grew up in Gorey and was 25 years old when he was first elected to Gorey Town Commission in 1999. A councillor from 1999 to 2019, he served four terms as chair of Gorey Town Council; three terms as chair of the Gorey Municipal District and one term as Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council. In April, 2020, he became a Senator and currently serves as Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. In February, 2020 he lost his Dáil seat at the general election and became the second shortest serving TD, after the anti H-Block TD Kieran Doherty who died on hunger strike in August, 1981. He has been involved with campaigns on housing, transport and school provision during his time in politics. Providing effective representation for rural communities and small villages is another important issue Senator Byrne will be focusing on if elected.

Pat Kennedy, who topped the poles at this year’s local elections in the Arklow Municipal District, was involved in the timber industry for years before stepping into the political arena and being elected to Wicklow County Council in 2014, 2019 and 2024. A father to three boys and husband to Helena, he has a vested interest in all aspects of rural life, from farming to GAA and hill walking, and is a passionate supporter of improving all aspects of community and family life and the environment they live in. Priding himself on being available “anytime, on any issue”, Pat decided to run for the Dáil to expand his work on behalf of communities on both sides of the Wicklow-Wexford border and to ensure that public amenities, road improvements and housing are provided where they are most needed, and a “strong representative” is secured in the area.

Frances Lawlor is a homemaker from Greystones who is running for Independent Ireland.

Elected to the Arklow Municipal District in 2019 after running a last-minute campaign on a shoestring budget, Cllr Peir Leonard’s hard work and dedication saw her comfortably re-elected in June, securing a whopping 2,025 of the Arklow LEA first preference votes. A proud mother to Tai, Rowan and Karston with her finger on her hometown’s cultural, historical and artistic pulse, prior to her political career, Peir had worked as an architectural assistant and also ran her own pottery and porcelain business. Enticed to run in the general election by the prospect of becoming Arklow’s first TD, Cllr Leonard wants to ensure the sustainable growth of towns, villages and local commerce across the Wicklow-Wexford constituency, and help maximise tourism by utilising the region’s natural and built heritage as part of a local creative sector at the heart of regeneration.

Ilse-Maria Nolan is from Cabinteely in Dublin and is the director of a medical company.

Sinn Féin’s Fionntán Ó Suilleabháin has been a councillor in the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District since 2014. He works closely with Johnny Mythen TD and is on the council’s Special Policy Committee on Housing. He works as a Special Education Teacher in Gaelscoil Moshíológ and Coolgreany NS. He is also on the board of management of Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board; Gorey Community School, Creagh College and Gorey Youth Needs Group and is a member of the Wexford-Wicklow Joint Policing Committee. Fionntán has a particular interest in local history and is the author of four books on the subject. Having a dependable health service, seeing lower rents and building affordable accommodation for the people of north Wexford is Fionntán’s number one priority.

Has been involved in activism since 2017 on issues such as gender-based violence, abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-racism and Palestine. After working as a tour guide for ten years she has a keen sense of the importance of preserving our culture, heritage and environment.

Green Party candidate Ann Walsh has lived in Castletown with her husband and two daughters for the past 27 years. Ann ran as the Green Party’s Wexford candidate in the 2016 General Election as well as the most recent local elections in June. She is originally from New Ross and at the moment she is a doctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology in Maynooth looking at memory and pro-environmental behaviour. She holds an MSc in Psychology and a Higher Diploma in Psychotherapy. She is a founding member of the Special Interest Group for Addressing Climate Change and Environmental Emergency within the Psychological Society of Ireland, a member of Irish Wildlife Trust, a founding member of Down To Earth Gorey, and a member of Wexford Environmental Network.