SINN FÉIN HAS selected councillor Janice Boylan to run alongside party leader Mary Lou McDonald in Dublin Central in the next general election. 

The decision to run a second candidate in McDonald’s constituency comes as a strategic shift for the party which previously ran McDonald on her own in 2020.

McDonald topped the poll that year with 36% of first preference votes. Fine Gael’s Paschal Donohoe secured the second highest level of first preference votes at 13%.

In that election, Sinn Féin made significant gains, receiving the highest number of first-preference votes of any party. However, in the aftermath McDonald acknowledged that her party got the numbers wrong and should have ran more candidates. 

The party tried to rectify this in June’s local and European elections, but overshot and had a disappointing performance. Speaking at her party’s think-in last month, the Sinn Féin president said she is hoping for “third time lucky” in this election. 

The party has been consistently falling in the polls however since its unprecedented highs of 2020, most recently dropping 9 points to 18% in the latest Sunday Times poll. 

Born in O’Devaney Gardens, Boylan has been a councillor for ten years and has vowed to be a voice that “stands up for working class communities. 

Speaking today McDonald said she was delighted to be joined on the ticket by Boylan. 

“Janice was born and raised in the Inner City. She has spent her entire adult life standing up for ordinary workers, families and our incredible communities.

“As a TD, Janice would be relentless in fighting your corner in Dáil,” McDonald said.