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AN INDEPENDENT COUNCILLOR who filled the country’s last council seat has defended remarks made in the aftermath of his win calling for women to “breed” more.
Speaking this morning on Kildare FM, Tom McDonnell defended his use of the word ‘breed’ in reference to a call for increased birth rates, citing his rural background.
McDonnell is a builder by trade. He is a father to five children and one of two founders of Éire Saor, which describes itself as “an unregistered umbrella group of like minded independent candidates running in the Newbridge area”.
He is the only candidate of the three members of Éire Saor to win a seat in the local elections. Of the 40 seats available, only three went to Independent candidates.
“I come from a farming background,” he told presenter Eoin Beatty when asked about his comments.
He claimed that he used the term as it had been used on farms: “You’d breed a litter of pups, or whatever.”
McDonnell did not say when asked if he would retract his use of the word ‘breed’ or apologise for his comment.
“It’s not offensive in any way. If people would understand me coming from a farming background. Have more children, yes. Have more children,” he said.
McDonnell’s victory in Newbridge marked the end of counting for the local elections.
Four recounts were issued in total in the Kildare count centre in Punchestown to determine who would be elected to the final three seats in the Newbridge Local Electoral Area (LEA).
Tracey O’Dwyer (Fine Gael), Peggy O’Dwyer (Fine Gael), and Chris Pender (Social Democrats), had all been elected after reaching the quota.
After their successes, there was a long battle for the three final seats, with four recounts to decide which of Sinn Féin’s James Stokes or Aontú candidate Melissa Byrne would be eliminated.
25-year-old Byrne was ultimately excluded after receiving two fewer votes than Sinn Féin’s youngest candidate, 18-year-old James Stokes, who himself was eliminated shortly afterwards.
Byrne’s elimination resulted in a transfer of 260 votes to McDonnell, who ran on an anti-immigration platform.
Today on Kildare FM, McDonnell denied that he was anti-immigration, saying that he was “absolutely” for “controlled immigration, not anti-immigration”.
He also denied being a member of the far-right.
“The first two lads I worked for were from Jamaica. We had great craic,” he said.
McDonnell has strongly outlined his views on the Irish birth rate, saying: “If we don’t have women breeding, we die out as a breed. We don’t want that to happen.”
This morning, he confirmed his plans for tax incentives to be given to working women who have more children.
Irish girls are the foundation of this state.”
He also said that his agenda going forward “will be to look after the women of Ireland and make sure they have more children and give them tax incentives”.
Former Mayor of Kildare, and Newbridge resident, Michael ‘Spike’ Nolan, told Kildare FM that he was unhappy with the election of McDonnell.
Nolan expressed frustration with the low voting turnout and highlighted the dangers of political apathy.
A total of 11,755 people voted in the Newbridge LEA, a 46.8% turnout. Nolan said that low voting turnouts and political indifference “inadvertently gives an advantage to candidates with harmful and divisive agendas.”
The first five seats filled in the council from the Newbridge LEA were incumbent councillors. The final seat, which went to newcomer McDonnell, had previously been filled by Independent councillor Fiona McLoughlin Healy, who did not run.
You can view the local election results here, and keep up with the European election counts here, as they continue in Midlands-North-West and Ireland South.
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Maybe a poor choice of words.
For all you righteous woke, one thing, we do have a shrinking native population,
So is he wrong
@jiminybillybob: Of course he is. How many children women choose to have is none of his business.
@Brendan O’Brien: What McDonnell is campaigning on sounds like a Walt Disney movie and an Ira Levin thriller blended together. It’s off the wall stuff for many reasons. Does he know this and just sees it as his ticket to the fast lane in Irish politics? Or does he really believe in this? If he believe it, can we turn some town into a DeVelera theme park and elect McDonnell to be the mayor?
@jiminybillybob: the irony is your type would be the first to get enraged by a woman having a load of kids and getting benefits off the state. Can’t have your cake and eat it.
@Brendan O’Brien:
Brendan the Ostrich, the man who never let the truth distract him from his mission. No,he’s not wrong,the native Irish birthrate has been well below replacement level for years now. And no don’t bother asking me for evidence, look it up yourself and get your facts straight, for once!
“”Migrants are going to take over”, he claims his son said in a warning about Ireland’s future as McDonnell drove him to the airport to emigrate to Australia.” Lol! the irony lost of course
Knuckle dragger
@Gerald Kelleher: You are in your own little world. Please try and get out more
@Mick :
Some, but all commenters, are willing victims to a subculture that drew a conclusion based on an Irish culture but they asserted it as a Celt ‘race’. We were the original knuckle draggers in Victorian natural selection.
Academic politics of the scientific method is far more dangerous than most realise.
“I know; such men do not deduce their conclusion from its premises or establish it by reason, but they accommodate (I should have said discommode and distort) the premises and reasons to a conclusion which for them is already established and nailed down. No good can come of dealing with such people, especially to the extent that their company may be not only unpleasant but dangerous.” Galileo
The insanity of the commonplace is a constant presence, and that is not my world.
Ok so you are going to give a working woman tax breaks to have a child but what are you going to do about child care because that’s where the problem is!
They run. After dumping their offspring with the woman. Typical man’s attitude. Everyone else has to be the responsible one. Now if you enforced men to also be caregivers he’ll change his ways fairly quick!!!!!!
@Fiona Wyse: The problem is that when you make society too expensive and lower standards, those at the bottom are left behind, eventually they mobilise and invariably start shouting at the nearest thing to them, in this case our newly found first world problem immigrants (which ironically we’ve been on the other end of for centuries). Donal Trump always said he’d run for Republican because similar ideological residue. Worse in the USA because their third level education system is private (thicker populous).
Anyone who voted for this Neanderthal needs to take a long hard look at themselves. Medieval nonsense.
What a gowl
And it has children
@9QRixo8H: In fairness they think they’re in a race.
@9QRixo8H: Children that he’d like the taxpayers to fund at the expense of their own? I suppose his hero is Boris Johnson.
“If we don’t have women breeding, we die out as a breed. We don’t want that to happen.” That is far right rhetoric. There is no possibility of the Irish ‘dying out’. He clearly is referring to a declining overall majority of what he would call ‘Irish’ in Ireland. That’s the essence of far right talking points.
@Numinous20111: The great replacement theory, and he has just been elected
@Numinous20111: there is no such thing as pure anything.. we are all wonderful mongrels! Embrace the diversity of the human genome otherwise who knows what we’d be like
@SYaxJ2Ts:
Hopefully the first of many!The times are a changing, all over Europe, and not a minute too soon. Are the Irish not entitled to a homeland of their own,with a distinct Irish identity, or should we resign ourselves to just being one of half a dozen ‘ethnic minorities’ in our own country. Without Irish women having Irish babies the writing is on the wall,it’s not rocket science!
@Numinous20111:
So saying that we need women to have babies to ensure the future of mankind is now ‘far right’?? Wow! Just wow! So if women aren’t going to have the babies who is? Men? On second thoughts don’t answer that, you’ve contributed enough wisdom for one day,take the rest of the evening off!
@Jonn:
But if these virtue signallers disagree with anything you say they will call you far right. I made a stupid joke about Eamon Cabbage head on another article earlier and some gobsh!te got all upset and referred to me as far right. They’re like kids !
@Jonn: future of Mankind’? (sure you don’t just mean your interpretation of your own kind, otherwise it’s very liberal of you to include everyone in this sentiment John.
@Regular John: are you saying that the great replacement theory is not far right?
Well said Tom. Great to see you elected, you should be in the Dáil!
Lol! Newbridge, no surprise.
@Thesaltyurchin: Explain?
@Thesaltyurchin: possibly an inbreeding problem?
@Thesaltyurchin: Newbridge or nowhere!
@James Leahy: All the men are gargoyles, dipped long in Irish stout
@Anthony Whoriskey: plenty of kn@ckers to ‘chum’ the waters
Badly put across, of course,but no need for histrionics either.
I’m not surprised comments are open on this story.
His grammar is appalling. He DONE this and he DONE that. He’s also fryKend (frightened??)about different things. A total embarrassment.
@Patrice Ahern: Its’ the demographic, really thick dole types are the new intellectuals
Loin cloth and club kinda guy.
I find it hard to believe that people like him exist in the year 2024…. more amazed that people actually voted for this clown…. so there must be breeding problem in newbridge… possibly an inbreeding problem
@Ronan Skelly: Why are you surprised that people like him still exist in 2024? Most of the 2 billion Muslims and equal number of Africans would share his views. And since they are reproducing at a faster rate, and people who share your views are not, then not only do you belong to a minority, but shrinking minority at that.
They are the future. You are the past
@Ronan Skelly: plenty in Palestine, Hamas thanked us for recognising it
@Fran Ken: people can’t afford kids, can’t afford a house, can’t afford child care, yet wants people to have more kids, box ticker.
@Fran Ken: Lol! palpable fear.
More amused at the Woke candidate elected as the sole representative for Irish Fascist party, their membership are having a complete fit that he is gay
@M To The B:
Why do you say that? Maybe she’s happy and contented with her five kids and husband on the farm. Would she be better off getting pierced and tattooed and starting an Onlyfans account? Don’t presume to know what brings people happiness and fulfilment!
Will he be joining Aontu
@Jimmy Wallace:
Your Hamas mates are partial to an ‘aul bus bombing.
As it happens ,our birthrate has been dropping drastically over the last twenty years and one could argue that our need for ‘inward migration’ is a consequence..that’s the facts ..and I believe is something this man was trying to articulate.
@Gar Phelan: Perhaps we could get some of ‘our’ 60 million back?
He going to have tax incentives for working women who have more children. Who dies he think he is? The minister for Finance!
Newbridge, what are ye at lads?
Whacko..x rarely marks the spot…
Woke Ireland is all upset.
The extreme left and it’s woke ideology have given rise to the extreme right, yiz just kept pushing and thought it was WOKE TIME non stop and now the backlash is here and most likely will grow, now you’re all upset. A rise in 1 extreme leads to another in response.
Too arrogant to contemplate or see what was happening.
@Niall Murphy: Well they are the same thing if thats what you mean.
Well definitely not with himself… Perhaps he should try on his own
He’s absolutely right and fully entitled to express his views openly. Everybody has a right to express their opinions whether they agree with your own sentiments or not.
If European natives are not having enough children ( which they are clearly not) then tge population will be TOTALLY replaced with other races within a few genarations. FACT!!!!
Sounds like a lovely guy
If my missus gets pregnant will he give us planning permission t extend me jax
His card is marked. Thanks for letting us know who you are this early in the game. We’ll be watching
Newbridge or nowhere. I’d prefer nowhere after that comment.
Perhaps irish women are having less because they see the school class numbers being stretched to the limit.
30 odd in most classes now,and a large percentage not irish.
Most pram pushers I see are not irish,so I can see why people have a fear of being squeezed out.
His wording for increasing irish mother’s birth rate as breeding,and a litter ,as in animals is offensive.
Does he refer to his own children as a litter.
You need to sort out child care 1st.
lol
It seems commenters have gotten nowhere when faced with the human breeding conviction of natural selection, although the less considerate imagine it is about evolution.
It is supposed to look comical to contemporaries despite the havoc it created over the last 160+ years, but the same people here, women included, who express support for natural selection are the same misguided people who have no sense of how women were portrayed within that misadventure.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Descent_of_Man_(Darwin)/Chapter_XIX
The direction of travel here is that the Victorian prejudice convictions are still held in high regard by those who consider the influence of academic politics on politicians (left) is necessary. It takes nothing to spot prejudice yet nobody sees it.
The reactions from those who act as cheerleaders for the academic community acting through social politics demonstrate that right and left social politics is really a false choice.
The real dynamics are a disruptive circle of influence between funding of the academic community for dangerous and non-productive convictions.
Lads, the simple fact of the matter is that change, however incremental, is inevitable.
What we can try to do is influence this change by making decisions now that will positively impact things in the future.
The election of this man is not one of those decisions that will help our future as a country.
I’m aghast at all the male simps here – the feminization of men is working out well. Irish women do need to have more babies as our population is shrinking, as is Europe’s. Blame must also be put upon the availability of housing and the ever emigrating masses fleeing abroad. Re: the simps – these are the men women wouldn’t look at twice.
Could of used a better way of explaining,but he has a point,as we kill about 8,000 babies a year true abortion,our indigenous population is shrinking and we have the African and Arab population increase all the time,so that’s how England is headed and we’re as always following
Asf
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