Notable absence of councillors at cwn seminar

An organisation aimed at empowering women locally has lashed out at what it claims is a lack of support and respect from Cavan County Council, after just one elected member attended the group’s annual flagship Summer School event - this year directed at promoting the role of ‘Women in Politics’.
Packed with political heavyweights including vice-president of the European Parliament, Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness, Independent MEP Marian Harkin and Head of the European Parliament Information Office in Dublin, Francis Jacobs, just one local councillor showed for the Breffni Belles Cavan Women’s Network hosted conference last week.
Their absence at the European Parliament supported symposium, despite invitations being sent, was “notable”, Mary Croke, former Labour local election candidate and women’s network representative told The Anglo-Celt.
“We had Fianna Fáil’s Niamh Smyth here on the day one but nobody from the council showed up after that. It’s very disappointing because the likes of Mairead McGuinness, the third highest ranking person elected in the European Parliament was here. If it was the Taoiseach, or any of his Ministers... they’d all be out looking for a photo opportunity,” she said.
Boasting further input from the likes of newspaper editor Sheila O’Reilly, political analyst Johnny Fallon, Claire McGing of the Dynamics of Women’s Political Representation group, several hundred women from across the region attended the two-day seminar at the Cavan Crystal Hotel, July 16-17.
Among the topics covered were the development of women’s representation in the European Parliament since direct elections in 1979, the role of Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality.
Martina Keogan of the network, which was the recipient of the council’s Cathaoirleach Award in 2013, added: “We have a very low penetration of women in politics in Cavan. Our aim is to change that, either by inspiring women to step forward, or to encourage others to spread the word.
“We have no female TDs and I don’t think we’ve ever had one from this county. Minister [Heather] Humphreys is from neighbouring Monaghan, and right now only three of 18 sitting Councillors in Cavan are female. So it has always been a struggle.”

See this week's newspaper for full report...