An initiative to encourage more women from rural Ireland to get involved in politics has been awarded Research Ireland funding, with a secondary school programme aimed at addressing gender inequality launched in recent weeks.

See Her Elected (SHE) received the funding as part of a collaboration with the Electoral Commission and Maynooth University to deliver Building Bridges: Understanding Youth Politics Imagination and Enhancing Political Agency in Rural Ireland.

The Building Bridges project will look at how schools can recognise and nurture young people in rural communities who are interested in politics but don’t understand the political system and its relevance to their lives.

ADVERTISEMENT

Professor Pauline Cullen, from the Department of Sociology and Politics at Maynooth University, says the collaboration reflects the importance of linking research with community expertise.

“Political agency does not begin at 18. It is shaped by culture, community, gender norms and opportunity. By working alongside See Her Elected and rural schools, we can better understand how political imagination is formed and how it can be strengthened,” she says.

“As Ireland continues to confront persistent low female representation in rural local councils, this partnership represents a significant step towards fostering the next generation of confident, politically engaged citizens.”

By working alongside See Her Elected and rural schools, we can better understand how political imagination is formed and how it can be strengthened

SHE, which is delivered by Longford Women’s Link and supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage runs a successful schools’ programme in secondary schools throughout rural Ireland. The programme delivers talks from local female councillors who share their experience of representing their communities at local Government level.

Across the country, over half of local authorities are made up with less than 25% female councillors including; Carlow, Carlow, Cork City, Donegal, Galway (county), Kerry, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford.

Megan Flynn Dixon, communications and development manager with See Her Elected, said the schools programme can often be students’ first introduction to local politics.

“We are constantly in awe of the ideas that students come up with during our school sessions. For many of them it is often the first time they realise they have agency, that they have the power to contact their councillors, and will be voters at the next local elections in 2029.”

A Guide to Running in the 2029 Local Election, which is available online, has been developed by See Her Elected, who also offer free, online, practical election workshops.

See seeherelected.ie