Taking time to listen: Sinn Féin's Kathleen Funchion on working with ex and EU prospects

European election candidate Kathleen Funchion says 'it's important not just to be breezing ... because there is a lot of learning you can get meeting people'. Picture: Moya Nolan

Not many people would choose to work closely with a former partner on a daily basis, let alone place full trust in them when it comes to the future.

For Sinn Féin Ireland South candidate Kathleen Funchion, having her ex-husband as a key member of her European election campaign team was non-negotiable.

“We know each other so well, so in an ironic way, it works very well,” Ms Funchion says of having David Cullinane, who is the party’s health spokesperson, on board as her political director.

“It was kind of a combined decision, but I would have specifically looked for David to be involved in some way, shape, or form.

“Obviously, I know him very well, so I do find I would be very comfortable talking to him — whether we are running through things in advance of interviews or different situations.”

The couple separated 10 years ago and have two sons together, but have been working along the same corridor in Leinster House as elected TDs for many years.

It might be unusual but it does work 

Sinn Féin is entering the local and European elections under significant pressure to deliver at a time when support appears to be drifting.

A recent opinion poll put Mary Lou McDonald’s party on par with Fine Gael on 22%. It’s a significant slide from the 36% approval rating the party enjoyed this time two years ago.

That same poll in the Sunday Independent put Funchion on 9.5%, suggesting she is in a strong position to take one of the five seats in the tightly contested Ireland South constituency.

With sitting MEPs Sean Kelly of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher expected to retain their seats — on 18.5% and 14.4% respectively — it could be a battle for the remaining three seats.

Among those in the chase with Ms Funchion will be Clare Independent Michael McNamara and Green MEP Grace O’Sullivan.

Mick Wallace won’t want to give up his seat in Brussels and Fianna Fáil’s candidate, former RTÉ presenter Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is also positioned well along with Ms Funchion’s party colleague Paul Gavin.

Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion listens to staff in the training kitchen at Lakers social and recreational club in Bray, Wicklow. Picture: Moya Nolan.

With a total of 23 candidates on the ballot paper, getting out and meeting as many people in the sprawling constituency has been important to Ms Funchion, who has been a TD for Carlow-Kilkenny since 2016 and previously ran in the European elections in 2009.

However, when she arrives into the Men’s Shed in Wicklow’s seaside town of Bray, a glossy canvass card placed among the cups and buns on the kitchen table is a clear giveaway that a rival party has got there before her.

Taking a break from woodturning, the men explain that local Social Democrats candidate Aaron McAllorum had been in earlier and is due to return with the party leader Holly Cairns that afternoon.

It doesn’t seem to phase Ms Funchion, who takes her time listening to concerns about insurance for the facility and a number of other issues that are raised.

Ms Funchion is not one of those politicians who arrives into a room and instantly dominates it, but her quiet style has gained attention in Leinster House where she has managed to get cross-party support — especially as part of her work as chair of the Oireachtas Children’s Committee.

“I think it’s important not just to be breezing in, shaking hands and leaving, because there is a lot of learning you can get from meeting groups and people,” she says.

I think it’s important to take the time to chat to people

Later she visits Lakers, a social and recreational club catering for just under 380 adults and children with an intellectual disability, spending well over an hour listening to those involved with the service.

As a former trade union official, she is fully aware of the positives that Europe has brought, from workers rights legislation, gender equality laws, and funding for community childcare facilities. However, she believes that there has been a move away from this focus.

“I think we need to change that, we need to get back to focusing on communities, families, workers, and what was envisaged originally when it was formed, and I think that we need people who have some level of political experience.”

While the party will be expecting Sinn Féin to take a seat in each of the three European constituencies, Ms Funchion knows that voters can be fickle.

“I have been involved in enough elections to know that we’ve had good days in that count centre and we’ve had bad days.

“I took it really badly in 2019, for example, when we lost all our councillors in Kilkenny, I felt devastated for everybody that day. I think you have to be really cautious. I think you can’t take anything for granted.

“But we’re getting a very good reception, we’re getting a good response, people are engaging, people are chatting, I feel on this campaign, people want to chat for longer and to really get into some of the issues that they have,” she says.

Kathleen Funchion, who will contest the upcoming European elections in Ireland South, chats with Malcolm Daly, John Kearney, and Oliver Dooley in the Men’s Shed. Picture: Moya Nolan