Sinn Féin taking claims that Cork councillor was undermined by party 'very seriously'

Cllr Danielle Twomey confirmed she is leaving the party

Cllr Danielle Twomey, who announced this week that she is leaving Sinn Féin. File Picture: David Keane.

Sinn Féin has said it is taking claims from a Midleton-based councillor that she was undermined before leaving the party "very seriously."

Danielle Twomey, who recently announced she would not be seeking re-election, confirmed she is leaving the party on Monday evening.

Cllr Twomey tweeted that she would be carrying on as an independent for the remainder of her term. It is understood that Sinn Féin will look to co-opt somebody into the seat in the new year.

Ms Twomey posted: "As of today I have resigned from the Sinn Féin party. I will continue my next few weeks as an independent with Cork County Council. This year has taught me to not allow yourself to be subject to environments that don’t respect you or value you. #lifeistooshort."

Ms Twomey announced at the end of October that she would not be running again, alluding to alleged "undermining" from colleagues. 

“The recent floods have really made me realise what is most important and I need to now give my all or nothing to my family for a while,” she said.

Ms Twomey said she has felt she needed to take a break from politics “for a long time” having missed big family moments, such as first steps, adding that recent events have made the decision easier for her.

A spokesperson for Sinn Féin on Tuesday said that the party wishes Ms Twomey luck and that she had been "a fantastic" public representative.

"The party takes any alleged undermining of a public representative very seriously. Cllr Danielle Twomey acknowledged this in a recent interview on RedFM, in which she said the party did everything possible to assist her. She has been a fantastic councillor for our party. We wish her the very best of luck for the future."