Green Party welcomes news that Mal O’Hara is set to become its fifth senator
The Green Party today (Monday March 25th) welcomed the news that Mal O’Hara is likely to be successfully elected to the Seanad unopposed.
This would make him the party’s fifth sitting Senator. O’Hara is leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland and has been a community activist for the environment, communities and LGBTQ+ rights.
Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland, Mal O’Hara said;
“It is important that a Northern Ireland voice remains in the Seanad. I believe that with my background as an activist, my almost two decades in the community and voluntary sector, my time as a Belfast City Councillor, as a Harbour Commissioner and board member of mental health charities, I can authentically advocate on behalf of all communities. I will ensure that all voices from Northern Ireland are amplified in the Seanad."
“The Green Party is the only all-island cross community party. I am excited about joining a strong Green Party Oireachtas team and working with our colleagues in Government and cross-bench to achieve a socially and environmentally just society. “
O’Hara comes from North Belfast and has been the Leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since 2022. Before entering politics, he worked in the community and voluntary sector for almost two decades, addressing inequality and building peace in the most deprived areas of Belfast. He was previously the health manager at Ireland’s largest LGBTQ+ organisation, is the former Vice-Chair of the Equal Marriage Campaign in the North, was a board member for both a local and regional mental health charity and a former Harbour Commissioner.
Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan said;
“I am delighted that Mal is set to be nominated to Seanad Eireann and will be joining our other strong and effective Green senators in the upper house of the Oireachtas. As leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, Mal will bring a unique all-island perspective to the Seanad, as an extension of the inclusiveness that he has shown in his political and work careers to date.
“As a community worker, activist and a politician, Mal has worked tirelessly to promote peace, prosperity, tolerance, climate and social justice across different political, social and cultural divides. I look forward to the positive contributions he will make, not just in the Seanad itself, but to politics in general and this island’s social and economic progress over the coming year.”
Senator Roisin Garvey, Leader of the Green Party in the Seanad, welcomed the newest member;
“As Green Party Leader in the Seanad, it is great to see our team of four now set to expand to five. With the climate and biodiversity emergency effecting everything from flooding to food production and air and water quality, the more strong voices we have the better, and Mal O’Hara’s background in community activism will be a big help to us and our all Ireland party representation.”
The Green Party announced earlier this month that it had nominated O’Hara to contest the Seanad by-election caused by the resignation of Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile. Reports today reveal that no other candidate from any other party has been nominated. His appointment is set to follow certain formalities which are likely to take place on April 8.
