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THE LEADER OF the Green Party in Northern Ireland, who was recently elected to the Seanad, has announced he is running for a Westminster seat at the upcoming UK general election.
In March, Mal O’Hara was elected unopposed to a Seanad seat that had been vacated by former Belfast councillor and Sinn Féin member Niall Ó Donnghaile, who left the Seanad due to ill health.
O’Hara has been the Green Party’s leader in the North since 2022 and formally took up his seat on 8 April.
In a statement at the time, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said O’Hara will bring a “unique all-island perspective” to the Seanad.
Meanwhile, O’Hara said that it was important a “Northern Ireland voice remains” in the Seanad following Ó Donnghaile’s departure.
“I will ensure that all voices from Northern Ireland are amplified in the Seanad,” added O’Hara in a statement in March.
He has since been nominated by the Green Party of Northern Ireland to contest the upcoming UK general election in North Belfast.
The election will be held on Thursday, 4 July.
The current MP for North Belfast is Sinn Féin’s John Finucane.
The DUP’s Nigel Dodds, now a member of the UK’s House of Lords, held the seat prior to Finucane’s election win in December 2019.
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So he is going to be running around the north for next few weeks looking for votes and getting paid by the irish state,its a joke
Can the seanad appointment be taken off him and given to someone who wants to remain rather than someone who wants to put their foot in both camps.
Why not have the seanad as an elected assembly for all Ireland alongside Stormont and Leinster House?
Eamo looking after the lads as usual.
So, if elected, he will take an oath of allegiance to the Crown, while being a member of our parliament?
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: take it you have not read the Belfast Agreement? It allows us to identify as British and/or Irish. It is class.
He will get 2 bumper salaries and pensions. A very clever and greedy pig.
@Sean Money: No he won’t
@SYaxJ2Ts: yes he must be stopped
@Sean Money: he has more chance of becoming MEP in North Belfast than MP. Not a chance at all. Be surprised if he even gets 500. We will see.
“A Northern Ireland voice remains in the Seanad”… Well if he gets his way it won’t (assuming he is elected, which he hopes).
Regardless of where the voice is from, I guess that you get more feed off the trough in Westminster than the one on Kildare Street.
Takes an Oath to the king if successful! Can’t serve both countries. Absolute joke and disrespectful to the people of Ireland.
He seems more likely to take an oath of allegiance to the half crown.
Pointless – he won’t get elected.
Doggie ruff ruff should run for the house of commons. The English would love his little banana legs
Should either remove himself from the Seanad or be removed as a Senator, absolute sham to allow this to continue, but no surprise.
Not worth responding to the crap that will ensue here! If the system allows it then he is within his rights. If you wanna change that system get involved, short of that well, not much more to be said imo!
have your say