Local elections: Everything you need to know about the Cobh constituency
Rola Abu Zeid O'Neill said: 'It's very important that minorities vote because many think they do not have the right to.' Picture: David Creedon
- Rola Abu Zeid-O’Neill, People Before Profit
- Anthony Barry, Fine Gael
- Ger Curley, Independent Ireland
- Dominic Finn, Fianna Fáil
- Keith Kelly, Fine Gael
- Peter Kidney, Independent
- Mehdi Özçınar, Sinn Féin
- Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, Glór
- Sheila O’Callaghan, Fianna Fáil
- Clíona O’Halloran, Green Party
- Cathal Rasmussen, Labour
- Sinéad Sheppard, Fine Gael
It’s estimated the Cobh Municipal District is home to people from 70 different countries.
It’s one of the most diverse municipal districts in the country and therefore it's hardly surprising that one of the candidates, Mehdi Özçınar, is the son of a Kurdish father (Islamic) and Armenian mother (Orthodox Christian), and another is a Nazareth-born Palestinian Rola Abu Zeid-O’Neill. The former is running for Sinn Féin and the latter for People Before Profit.
Mehdi, 35, who lives in Cobh and who works with Apple, is married with two children. He was born in Turkey and came to Ireland 12 years ago. Prior to that he obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications at a university in Italy.
“I recognise there are a huge number of people from different nationalities who're not represented. I’m pushing them to ensure they vote. If they don’t vote for me that’s alright but I want them to exercise their franchise,” he said.
Rola, 51, is even more aware of the nationality diversity. Married to an Irishman and a mother-of-two she's a former manager at the Carrrigtwohill Family Resource Centre. While there she worked on integration and inclusion projects.
She arrived in Ireland in 2007 and works as a part-time lecturer in women’s studies at UCC. “It's very important that minorities vote because many think they do not have the right to,” she said.
There’s a long-standing view (with analytical justification) that Cobh votes don’t transfer over Bellvelly Bridge as the people of the ‘Great Island’ like to keep to their own as their local public representatives.
However, there has been a steady population increase in the other town in the constituency, Carrigtwohill, and it won’t be long before the number of voters there outstrip those of their harbourside neighbours.
Last time out Cobh elected three of its own councillors out of the six seats on offer — Fine Gael’s Sinead Sheppard, Independent Sean O’Connor, and Labour’s Cathal Rasmussen. Cllrs Sheppard and Rasmussen are seeking re-election.
In addition, Fianna Fáil is hoping to grab a seat in the town with first-time candidate Dominic Finn. It's remarkable such a big party couldn’t win one in the town last time out.
Ger Curley is a former member of the Naval Service who lives in Cobh and is running for Independent Ireland.
It will be crowded in Cobh, and somebody has got to lose out.
By contrast it looks easier for candidates on the northern side of Belvelly Bridge.
Carrigtwohill has sitting councillor Anthony Barry (Fine Gael) who looks to be very much in the running to retain his seat.
The only sitting Green councillor in the county, Alan O’Connor is also from Carrigtwohill but has decided not to seek re-election. Instead, the Greens are running Cliona O’Halloran, from Cobh. The young mother is a project manager with a multinational company and has done a lot of volunteer work in Cobh.
Meanwhile, in 2019 Fianna Fáil councillor Sheila O’Callaghan, who lives in Watergrasshill, hoovered up many rural votes. She'll have a big party machine behind her as she’s the sister of Ireland South MEP Billy Kelleher.
While Cobh and Carrigtwohill remain the main centres of population, there are growing populations elsewhere and any politician who ignores this does so at their peril.
In particular, the Kelleher/O’Callaghan clan will be acutely aware of this. It helps that brother and sister have canvassing teams working in unison, especially as Kelleher is seeking another term in the European Parliament.
Add into the canvassing mix Fianna Fáil Cork North Central TD Padraig O’Sullivan (who lives in Little Island) and his supporters and you probably have one of the most impressive canvassing teams in the country.
Kelleher and his sister are both ‘farming stock’ and the MEP has consistently gained votes from that community over the years, regardless of their political affiliation.
The ‘ripe for picking’ areas on the periphery of the municipal district are growing communities in Watergrasshill, Whitechurch, Glenville, Knockraha etc.
Fine Gael will also have targeted these areas, but smaller parties and independents are more often than not canvassing in the two towns in the municipal district.
“I think it is wonderful that there are people of different nationalities running. It is representative of the population we now have in this country and I think it is fantastic,” Anthony Barry said.
It is estimated that there are 60 different nationalities alone in Carrigtwohill. He said he believes that Cobh candidates will likely get three of the six municipal seats on offer “and there’s a possibility they might even get four.”
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