Mairia Cahill rules out Dáil bid following election

Mairia Cahill is ruling out a Dáil bid following her election to Seanad Eireann.

The anti-abuse campaigner was elected for Labour on the first count to take the seat of Jimmy Harte who resigned his seat in September.

The Belfast woman ran a campaign where she refused to give interviews or participate in debates over her previous involvement in a dissident Republican group.

Mairia Cahill has said she wants people to judge her on her future in the Seanad rather than a mistake she made in the past.

“Today, for me, is about looking to the future,” she said.

“And you know I am thankful for support and I would ask that people judge me on my record in the Seanad, because I hope to bring an empowering voice to all of the victims of abuse out there no matter who the perpetrators.”