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THERE WAS CLEAR exhaustion on the face of Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan when she was asked last week about what she made of Gerry “the Monk” Hutch registering his candidacy for the Dublin Central by-election.
The Journal joined the Sinn Féin election hopeful on the campaign trail in Dublin 7 on Thursday evening, a day after he officially threw his hat in the ring.
Boylan, who has been a Dublin City councillor for 12 years, gave a similar response that other by-election candidates have on the subject, stating that he is entitled to put his name forward.
However, she said his candidacy has not been coming up on the doors for her, and she does not think he will affect her vote.
Boylan spoke to The Sunday Times over the weekend about how she is related to members of the Kinahans, the drug cartel family involved in a long-running feud with the Hutches.
However, she said there is no engagement with them, adding: “There’s no connection, there never has been.”
Another thing that has not come up on the doors this time around is the issue of immigration, she said.
“It genuinely hasn’t come up, so far anyway,” Boylan told The Journal.
The 48-year-old candidate said it featured a lot in the local elections, with Boylan stating that people locally had a lot of concerns about it at the time.
But for the Dublin Central by-election, which takes place on 22 May, she said people are much more concerned about the “bread and butter issues”, such as housing and the cost of living.
The party has struggled in the past to outline what its position is on migration, which became a flashpoint for the party in Dublin Central, Mary Lou McDonald’s backyard.
This has been openly acknowledged by the party’s justice spokesperson Matt Carthy, who told attendees at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis last month that the party “did make mistakes in advance of the local and European elections in terms of how we handled this issue”.
“We needed to be far clearer much sooner about where we stood and much more forceful in calling out the government’s failures,” Carthy said.
But according to Boylan, for this election it hasn’t really been a story.
At the official launch of her campaign in Wynn’s Hotel yesterday evening, Boylan was asked for her reaction to Hutch’s comments on “illegal immigrants” and how he believes they should be “interned”.
She responded:
The comments that he made are out of order, as far as I’m concerned.
Boylan was asked if she had heard from any constituents who agree with interning immigrants.
“Not at all, not at all,” replied Boylan.
Jumping in to add her piece, McDonald said what she has heard on the doors is that people think the “government is not listening”.
“There certainly has been a sentiment that on this question, people aren’t being listened to. What we’re hearing is that people want to know that the system is efficient, that decisions are made, that decisions are enforced,” said McDonald, adding that she does not believe that the public are in favour of “large congregated settings” for immigrants.
It remains to be seen if the immigration issue and confusion on the party’s stance, as well as Hutch running in this election, will impact the Sinn Féin vote.
Another thing that might eat into Boylan’s vote is the Social Democrat candidate, Daniel Ennis, who many have tipped as a possible poll-topper.
Ennis worked in the constituency office of Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon before being elected to Dublin City Council in June 2024. He used to play League Of Ireland football with Bohemians, Shelbourne and Bray Wanderers.
While Sinn Féin remains the most popular party when it comes to the most recent polls, there has been speculation that perhaps the SocDems are being seen by left-leaning voters as a viable alternative to Sinn Féin.
Asked if she thinks the Social Democrats might eat Sinn Féin’s lunch on the day, Boylan said: “I don’t imagine so.”
She wasn’t getting that on the doors, she said.
According to Boylan, another ‘nothing to see here’ story is the speculation that there is animosity within the constituency over her selection as the party’s candidate.
In February, over 100 local members nominated Boylan rather than scoliosis and spina bifida campaigner Gillian Sherratt.
Sherratt came to prominence while campaigning to get answers on the timeline of care provided to her son, Harvey Morrison Sherratt, and why a decision was made to remove him from a spinal surgery waitlist ahead of his death in July this year.
Sherratt was seen as the preferred candidate of party leader Mary Lou McDonald, while it is understood there were some concerns within the party that Boylan, who contested the 2024 general election as McDonald’s running mate in the constituency, only placed 11th out of 13 contenders on the first count.
Boylan said reports that there was any beef between herself and Sherratt were created by the media.
“There’s no bad blood at all,” she told The Journal, stating that the party had a “very healthy democratic process” and “the membership voted for me”.
Describing Sherratt as a “fantastic person”, Boylan said “there is really no story there”.
Again, the matter was raised yesterday evening at her campaign launch, with McDonald telling reporters:
“I don’t know, maybe it’s a female thing, maybe it’s a woman thing… we did the same with the Catherine Connolly campaign. All of you [media] were losing your minds saying we were too slow, saying we didn’t know what we were doing.
“We knew exactly what we were doing. We were sizing up the contest and collectively as an organisation, figuring out what was the best politics, what was the best move, we did the same here,” said McDonald.
Turning to Boylan, McDonald said Boylan “won’t mind me saying it wasn’t just herself and Gillian”, there were other names in the hat that were also under consideration
“Janice and Gillian went to the convention. Janice won it, fair and square,” said McDonald.
One of the stories that will be written after this by-election is whether McDonald was successful or failed to get the party’s candidate over the line in her own backyard.
Chatter is already emerging that this election is Sinn Féin’s to lose.
But McDonald said Sinn Féin is in it to win it. She knows there will be big questions asked of her if they fail.
In a bid to shore up support, the evening The Journal joined Boylan on the campaign trail, McDonald and the party’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin joined the canvass.
Passing from house to house, McDonald’s car and driver followed closely behind her.
The welcome she received on the doorsteps was notable, with many simply calling her ‘Mary Lou’.
Apart from some builders that McDonald approached, who said they didn’t live in the area and were no supporters of Sinn Féin, the party leader was warmly received, often getting a hug from those who opened their doors.
The sun was beating down as the team of canvassers in Sinn Féin high-vis vests made their way through Cabra West, waving at Boylan’s parents along the way, who were out in their front garden enjoying the sunshine.
McDonald’s pitch to voters was, “spread the word, we’re looking to get another Sinn Féin candidate in”.
One woman she approached who was tending to her garden told McDonald: “I got my house, and you helped.”
While Boylan, Ó Broin, McDonald and the team of canvassers knocked on doors, different issues were raised. One man said he worked as a psychologist in aftercare for those who were in state care.
He raised concerns about the lack of resources for people who turn 18.
Another man spoke at length with Boylan about his difficulties in getting a GP visit card and physio supports for his daughter.
“We pay taxes, which is fine, but we need to see that we get something for it,” said this man.
“I don’t mind paying and in the past I would have voted for independents and the Green Party,” he told Boylan, stating that he has also voted for her party in the past.
Boylan, who is a 48-year-old mother of three, told this constituent that Sinn Féin’s motion of no confidence made a dent in the coalition, with the loss of the Healy Raes.
“Slowly but surely,” she said, acknowledging while the party didn’t succeed, the government is two men down.
What about the spoiled vote movement that featured so strongly in 2025, does Boylan think Dublin Central voters could be tempted to send a message in the same way?
“I don’t think so, it doesn’t feel like the way it was in 2025. Every door that opens, all people want to do is have a conversation. They want to tell you how it is for them, and it is not good,” she said.
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