Aontú announce third Mayo local election candidate

Aontú has announced a third Mayo local election candidate, Cathy Gaffney, who will stand for the party in the Ballina electoral area.

Cathy Gaffney, who has been living in Ballina for 20 years and has extended family there and in Knockmore and Foxford, is delighted to be part of the Aontu team for the Mayo local elections. She said: “Peadar Toibin is someone I admire greatly because I am passionate about real equality, between born and unborn, east and west, north and south, urban and rural.

“He has had the courage to be a real republican who cherishes all of the children and all the regions of Ireland equally.

''The truth is that decades of FG and FF governments have left too many falling behind and this is particularly true of north Mayo in general and Ballina in particular.

“I am asking voters to break the habit of voting for those who have let us down and seem only able to deliver crumbs for their constituents.

“Returning FG and FF councillors is to endorse failure and neglect. I am also very concerned about housing and believe there is an imminent housing crisis in Ballina.”

Cathy has political form, as a single mother, she dreaded water charges as the tipping point and is proud to have been part of the Mayo team who mobilized the people of Ballina in particular against them.

However, she said: “With rural roots and parents who pay into a group water scheme I am equally as passionate about the struggles of rural people.”

She believes political parties lose authority to talk about social justice if the most vulnerable among us, the unborn, are denied the right to life, and that women in crisis pregnancy need to be offered positive solutions and real support because often it is poor women who are faced with that terrible, lonely choice of an abortion.

“It is also important to understand the pain of those women whose unborn babies will not survive full term and she empathizes with those on the Yes side who fought over that issue.

“However, I will continue to fight for the unborn because I know there were many who voted to repeal but who do not want abortion on demand and I say that as someone who campaigned to save the Eighth Amendment.”

Aontú two other Mayo candidates are Paul Lawless, Knock (Claremorris electoral area), and Tommy Horan, Kilmovee (Swinford elelctoral area).