SINN FÉIN MEMBERS in Dublin have said there is no bad blood within the party after last night’s selection convention for Dublin Central. 

The meeting of over 100 local members saw the party nominate long-standing local councillor Janice Boylan to contest the upcoming by-election 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 of this year. 

Sources in the room said both women gave very strong speeches on the night and that this was followed by “robust discussion and debate” ahead of the secret ballot. 

Sherratt was seen as the preferred candidate of party leader Mary Lou McDonald, who had in recent weeks confirmed that she would be contesting the nomination.

Boylan, who has been a councillor since 2014, contested the 2024 general election as McDonald’s running mate in the constituency but placed 11th out of 13 contenders on the first count. 

Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison outside Leinster House, September 2025. Alamy Alamy

Despite Sherratt being based outside the Dublin Central constituency in Clondalkin, it is understood that the party HQ felt she may have had a better chance of success than Boylan. 

However, some grassroots members on the ground were unhappy with the idea of a candidate from outside the locality being chosen over someone like Boylan. 

“We gave Fianna Fáil so much slack for the Jim Gavin move, would we be any better if we didn’t pick one of our local councillors?,” was how one Sinn Féin source in the area put it to The Journal. 

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to the person who has a presence in the community,” they added. 

Another party activist in the constituency said that there was “genuine excitement” in the room and that it was impossible to call who would succeed before the result came in. They added that it was a “positive thing” for the nomination to be contested. 

Speaking to The Journal today, Sherratt said she was disappointed the vote didn’t go her way, but that she is “incredibly appreciative” of the time and consideration given to her by party members. 

“I would have loved the opportunity to hold this Government to account for their multitude of failures, but it was the decision of the members by majority vote and I fully respect that.

“I wish Janice the best of luck in the upcoming election and I do intend to come out and help canvass on her behalf and on behalf of the party,” Sherratt said.