Fermoy native poised to be First Minister
With Sinn Féin having won the largest number of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly election earlier this month, Fermoy native, Michelle O’Neill, is poised to be nominated as Northern Ireland’s first minister.
Born in Fermoy, Ms O’Neill spent the first four years of her life in the town before moving north with her family to Tyrone.
Local Sinn Fein representative, Helen White congratulated Ms O’Neill on her re-election, stating that it was a ‘historic day’ for the party.
“We’re delighted. It was a historic day for Sinn Fein now that it is the largest party in the North. This election is all about the future of Ireland and change for a united Ireland.
“We are very proud of her and the achievement she has accomplished in being the biggest political party in Northern Ireland,” Ms White said.
According to Ms White, Ms O’Neill has returned to visit Fermoy on a number of occasions, one in particular, being for the Liam Lynch Commemoration some two years ago.
“She’s a lovely lady. I’ve met her many times. She’s very down to earth and well-spoken,” Ms White added.
Michelle O’Neill’s father, Brendan Doris was a Provisional IRA prisoner and Sinn Fein councillor and Ms O’Neill became involved in republican politics during her teens when she assisted her father with constituency work in his role as a Dungannon councillor.
An uncle of Ms O’Neill’s, Paul Doris, headed the Irish Northern Aid Committee (Noraid) that raised funds for the IRA in the US, while two of her cousins, IRA members, were shot by security forces, one of which was fatal.
In 2005, when her father stepped down from the Dungannon borough council, it was Ms O’Neill who won his seat. Michelle O’Neill served on the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 until 2011, and served as the first female Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone from 2010 until 2011. In 2007, she was elected to represent Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader was appointed Deputy First Minister and joint head of Government in the North in January 2020 and has served as Vice President of the party since 2018.
At the recent election, the Sinn Féin vice-president was reelected on the first count in Mid-Ulster, receiving 10,845 first preference votes.
Now, the Fermoy native is poised to make history as the first nationalist leader of Northern Ireland.