Sinn Féin set to appeal to a new generation of the electorate

A familiar face to many, this will be Nicole Ryan's first time standing for election.

With an election looming, Sinn Féin is planning to run selection conventions right down to the wire.

The party has upwards of 50 candidates selected and is aiming for 70 by the time the public heads to the polls.

Here, we take a look at four of their candidates hoping to represent a new generation of the party.

From drug education to the Dáil: Nicole Ryan, Cork North West 

A familiar face to many, this will be Nicole Ryan's first time standing for election.

After Ms Ryan's brother died after consuming a deadly designer drug at a party, she turned her grief into action.

Since Alex passed, she set up a drug education programme in his name which has helped over 13,000 young people.

Realising that real change must be done through policy, entering politics was already in Ms Ryan's mind when she was approached by Sinn Féin to run in the local elections.

"I took a lot of time to make that decision, I had to make sure it was right for everybody," she said.

While passionate about drug rehabilitation and advocacy work, Ms Ryan says she is also "living a lot of the issues" that are impacting others in her area.

She may have a fight on her hands in the three-seater where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominate, but Ms Ryan is hoping younger voters will come out to support a fresh new voice.

Joe Lynch will be seeking to claim a second seat for the party alongside Thomas Gould.

Taking centre stage: Joe Lynch, Cork North Central 

Joe Lynch has served as an advisor to Mary Lou McDonald and, most recently, head of the Sinn Féin press office so this election is not his first rodeo.

However, he first took the step out from behind the scenes when he successfully ran as a candidate in Cork City South West earlier this year.

Mr Lynch has been a party member for almost half his life, you name it and he has been through it, he says.

"Cork mirrors the state in terms of the big issues," he said, and seeing constituents struggle with childcare, housing, and other issues pushed him to step forward as a candidate.

With an additional seat in Cork North-Central, Mr Lynch will be seeking to claim a second seat for the party alongside Thomas Gould.

Niamh Whelan is hoping to gain a second seat for the party where Sean Crowe has held a seat since 2011.

Following in family footsteps: Niamh Whelan, Dublin South West 

Just over 20 years after her mother ran as a general election candidate, Niamh Whelan is following in her footsteps.

Ms Whelan's political career came as little surprise — while in secondary school, she was voted 'most likely to become president'.

However, it was the Repeal campaign that really got her involved and she joined as a Sinn Féin member.

During the last general election, Ms Whelan looked at the candidates running in her constituency and saw no one that represented her.

Currently, the five-seat constituency has no female TD and no one under the age of 40.

The county councillor is hoping to gain a second seat for the party where Sean Crowe has held a seat since 2011.

Louis O'Hara is hoping to represent his constituency in the Dáil following the next election.

Third time's the charm: Louis O'Hara, Galway East 

In 2019, Louis O'Hara missed out on a seat on Galway County Council, and the following year, he missed out once again in the general election.

Undeterred, Mr O'Hara successfully gained a seat on the county council earlier this year.

Buoyed by the win, he is hoping to keep the momentum going and represent his constituency in the Dáil following the next election.

For Mr O'Hara, his journey is evidence that you can recover from election disappointment.

He joined the party at the age of 17 with the view that Sinn Féin is a party that stands up for young people and Mr O'Hara says he intends to do just that if he becomes a TD.