Máiría Cahill moves to reassure senators about her past ahead of vote

Seanad hopeful Máiría Cahill has contacted Government members of the Seanad to quell fears over recent controversy surrounding her past and to say she has always sought to “rise above these claims”.

Ms Cahill, a survivor of sex abuse, sent an email to Labour and Fine Gael senators who are eligible to vote in tomorrow’s Seanad by-election to address the allegations.

Ms Cahill, a Labour candidate, has been the subject of a number of emails to senators from independent candidate and former developer Jerry Beades, who made claims about her short-lived links to a dissident republican group in 2007.