Eolan Ryng to replace SF's Henry Cremin in Cork City SW ward

Eolan Ryng will attend his first council meeting next Monday.

Sinn Féin in Cork has announced Eolan Ryng as the party's new councillor for Cork city's south west ward, replacing Henry Cremin, who announced his retirement last month.

Mr Ryng, 36, a primary school teacher, from Bishopstown but who lives in Ballincollig, who ran in the 2019 local elections, said he would be "a voice for a generation of Cork people denied an affordable, secure place to live and a champion for community empowerment".

"It is an honour to have the opportunity to represent the people of the south west ward," he said. 

"I grew up in the area and now I am raising my own family here too. It is home. I will give absolutely everything in standing up for communities of the ward and ensure that their voices are heard in City Hall.

As a young father, I am very aware of the challenges facing this generation when it comes to the cost of living. Nowhere is this more acute than in the struggle to find affordable housing. 

"We have an entire generation being ripped off by extortionate rents. 

"They don't have a chance of saving for a deposit and they are locked out of home ownership as a result.

"The answer is public housing. The State must build affordable and social housing to scale again."

Mr Ryng will attend his first council meeting next Monday.

Mr Ryng has been active in the Irish National Teachers Organisation as a staff representative for several years and has also worked for United Voice in Australia as a union organiser in the health sector.

He coaches underage teams in both club and Sciath na Scol competitions and has previously been involved in ladies football at underage and junior level. 

He has served as chair of Sinn Féin Chorcaí for the past three years and was director of elections for Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire in 2016.