First council meeting for Councillor Seaneen White Sinn Féin’s newest councillor in Armagh City & District, Seaneen White, will enter council buildings tonight as a fully-fledged public representative for the first time. The 23 year old from Tullysaran has been nominated by her peers in Sinn Féin to fill the Armagh City seat recently vacated by Noel Sheridan. Speaking in advance of the meeting Councillor White said, “I am honoured to be selected to take over the reins from my colleague Noel Sheridan. I will use the opportunity of being a public representative to further the advancement of the Armagh area. I am passionate about Armagh and its people and, through the offices of the council I want to enhance the quality of life for everybody from this district.” Paying tribute to her predecessor Councillor White described the commitment of Noel Sheridan to the republican ideal of a United and equal Ireland. “Noel Sheridan served the people of Armagh as a councillor since he was first elected 20 years ago in 1993. Noel has been an excellent role model for young Sinn Féin activists such as myself and I have enjoyed working with him on several election campaigns. I know that Noel will continue his republican activism into the future in the community and I’m sure he will give me any assistance he can.” Endorsing the new councillor and bidding farewell to Armagh Council, outgoing representative Noel Sheridan said, “I have been an elected representative for two decades now and on the whole it has been a challenging but enjoyable experience. I hope to continue working on behalf of the people of Armagh as a community activist and I know that the position I occupied on Armagh Council will be ably filled by Seaneen who has proven to be a dedicated Sinn Féin activist over the past few years. “I wish Seaneen well in this new challenge and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin and on Armagh City & District Council for their support during my tenure as councillor.” The Sinn Féin group leader in the Council, Cathy Rafferty, officially welcomed Councillor White onto the Council saying; “I have every confidence that Seaneen White will prove to be an able and assertive public representative. Seaneen has been a member of the Gerard O’Callaghan Sinn Féin cumann for a number of years and she has recently worked closely with the Armagh area Comhairle Ceantair. “A Queens University graduate of politics, Seaneen worked full time for Sinn Féin as constituency press officer for 6 months from October 2012 – April 2013. Since then she has been working in Armagh Sinn Féin constituency Office where she has learned a lot about the issues people face. I welcome Seaneen onto Armagh Council and I hope she enjoys the experience.” Outlining her hopes for her tenure as councillor, Ms White said, “As a young female activist I will relish the challenge of entering a world which has traditionally been dominated by men of a certain vintage. I have only to look around the room to see many female role models across all parties and of course councillors Cathy Rafferty and Mary Doyle in my own party Sinn Féin. “As a young woman I will bring the issues that are important for young people into this council. Issues such as youth unemployment, it is a staggering statistic that 24% of people in the North under the age of 30 are unemployed, this combined with chronic emigration must be challenged. Young people are the lifeblood of any economy and I look forward to addressing these and other issues during my time as a councillor.” Sinn Féin MLA in Armagh Cathal Boylan also endorsed Seaneen saying; “I have known Seaneen White for many years and in the past she has demonstrated determination and a good work ethic. She will be an asset to Armagh Council and indeed to the people of Armagh.”
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:06:17 +0000
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