Mayo native Saoirse McHugh to contest MEP battle

In an announcement on social media, the 33 year old environmentalist stated her intention to contest in the Midlands North West constituency.

Saoirse McHugh's returning to politics, four years after her high profile exit from the Green party will come as a surprise to many, this time she will be campaigning as an Independent.

On social media platform X, she stated, "I’ll fight for fairness, for people, for nature, and for a better future for everybody.

The EU has long prioritised big businesses over people and we need every progressive voice there that we can get."

Speaking to the Irish Independent, Ms McHugh said one of her chief concerns is “the rise of the far right.”

“The rise of the far right is biggest change in politics in the last five years. We have people setting fire to buildings to stop people living in them. And there are a lot of people out there who are giving a lot of cover to this and I think it’s really dangerous.

“But one thing I have learned since first entering politics is that social media is not reality. If you get out and knock on doors, the vast majority of people are sound, they want to get on with their neighbours and community.”

Saoirse McHugh has posted a link to a GoFundMe account to raise finance for her campaign.

McHugh is the third Mayo woman to throw her hat in the ring, after Fianna Fáil's Lisa Chambers and sitting MEP Maria Walsh of Fine Gael.

As a green party candidate in the 2019 European Parliament elections, she received 51,019 first preference votes.