THE GREEN PARTY leader in Northern Ireland is set to be elected to the Seanad.
Mal O’Hara, a former Belfast City councillor, is due to become the fifth Green Party senator in the Oireachtas.
If confirmed, O’Hara will be filling a seat previously held by Sinn Féin’s Niall Ó Donnghaile, a former Mayor of Belfast, who resigned for health reasons last year.
O’Hara’s chances are looking strong this evening after he was nominated unopposed.
His appointment is set to follow certain formalities which are likely to take place on April 8, according to the Green Party.
In a statement issued by the Green Party today, its leader Eamon Ryan said that O’Hara will bring a “unique all-island perspective” to the Seanad.
“As a community worker, activist and a politician, Mal has worked tirelessly to promote peace, prosperity, tolerance, climate and social justice across different political, social and cultural divides,” Ryan said.
O’Hara said it was important a “Northern Ireland voice remains” in the Seanad following Ó Donnghaile’s departure.
“I believe that with my background as an activist, my almost two decades in the community and voluntary sector, my time as a Belfast City Councillor, as a Harbour Commissioner and board member of mental health charities, I can authentically advocate on behalf of all communities,” he said.
“I will ensure that all voices from Northern Ireland are amplified in the Seanad.”
An LGBTQ+ rights campaigner from North Belfast, O’Hara has been the Leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since 2022. He worked in the community and voluntary sector for almost two decades before entering politics.
Senator Roisin Garvey, Leader of the Green Party in the Seanad, welcomed the newest member.
“With the climate and biodiversity emergency effecting everything from flooding to food production and air and water quality, the more strong voices we have the better, and Mal O’Hara’s background in community activism will be a big help to us and our all Ireland party representation,” Garvey said.
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