BREAKING: New Social Democrats chair is former Kildare SF politician who topped the poll with a government minister

The new chair of the Social Democrats party, Sorcha O’Neill, was a member of Kildare County Council.

Naas-based Ms O’Neill contested the local elections in 2014, comfortably taking a seat for Sinn Féin on KCC.

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She garnered 1,622 preferences - or 12.3% of the vote. She was selected on the first count, comfortably exceeding the quota of 1,315 votes.

Also elected with a significant vote was James Lawless, the current Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. 

For Mr Lawless, who later became a TD, this was his first electoral outing - having been a defeated runner in the previous local elections poll (2009).

But in April 2017 Ms O’Neill said she was leaving the party, adding “sources have also confirmed that four additional members of the Naas Wolfe Tone  cumann (branch) are also leaving.”

She said a total of seven members have left the party “in the area” and some have been party members for 30 years. 

She added: ”I  love Sinn Fein and will continue to fight for an Ireland of equals but the party environment in Kildare is a very hostile and toxic place to work in.

“It's a very sad day for me and the others that have chosen to leave as well but we will not continue to allow the members in Naas to be bullied, disrespected and undermined by a  few members in Kildare.”

She ran as an independent in the local elections of 2019, but finished down the field.

Last weekend, Social Democrats party members voted for Ms O’Neill as the new chair at their national conference in Cork.

The SDs say the development comes as support for the decade old party reached 10%  for the first time in its history.

Ms O’Neill will chair the party’s national executive, the managerial and governing body of the party and the policy-making national council.