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By Paul McConnell
Secondary school students across Donegal have highlighted measures to help encourage women into local politics at an event in the Errigal Hotel.
One hundred young women from Loretto Convent, Scoil Mhuire, and St Columba’s College identified practical measures to address the shortage of women on Donegal County Council. At present, Donegal ranks last out of 31 local authorities for the percentage of female councillors. Only three of Donegal’s 37 member council are women.
Students proposed a series of measures to support future female candidates. Among them were bursaries for women entering politics and the introduction of politics as an official Leaving Certificate subject. They also suggested establishing a public-speaking competition aimed at young women and creating mentorship programmes to build confidence and leadership skills.
Dr Michelle Maher – programme manager with See Her Elected (SHE) – emphasised the importance of diverse representation in local government.
“It matters who’s in the room when decisions are made.
“To successfully campaign against candidates with a high public profile, a woman needs to build her own reputation as someone who gets things done. That takes time and effort, but it is absolutely achievable — especially with the practical election support available from See Her Elected,” Ms Maher said.
The county’s three sitting female councillors — Niamh Kennedy, Dakota Nic Mheanman and Joy Beard — also attended.
Ms Kennedy described how her background in community work helped establish her profile ahead of election. Ms Nic Mheanman highlighted the importance of party membership in accessing support and resources. Ms Beard encouraged young women to begin their political journeys by engaging with social issues they feel strongly about.
Despite some progress in recent years, female representation in Donegal remained exceptionally low. In the last 100 years, only 14 women have been elected to Donegal County Council, compared with 255 men.
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