The Green Party have selected North Inner City councillor Janet Horner as their candidate for the upcoming Dublin Central by-election.
Horner was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2019 for the North Inner City constituency, being chosen as Ciáran Cuffe’s co-option onto the council as he also won a European Parliament seat on the same day; Horner was subsequently re-elected at the 2024 local elections.
The by-election, triggered by Pascal Donohoe’s resignation in November, will see the opposition attempt to go 4 for 4 in the heart of the capital – the current 3 TDs are from opposition parties.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin told reporters on Thursday (February 5), that the by-elections for both Dublin Central and Galway West will be held in May.
Horner said, “Dublin Central is a vibrant, connected community full of compassion, creativity and ambition. As a councillor and a long-term resident of the north inner city, I know the people of Dublin Central deserve a TD who will fight fearlessly for our area.”
“I believe in the best of Dublin Central – we need leadership focused on action and solutions, rather than problems and fear, and that recognises and champions our area’s rich history and cultures.”
Horner said she was running because the constituency “needs a strong, new Green voice that puts community, care and culture at the heart of how we respond to the climate crisis and the uncertainty of the world around us.”
“At a time when hard men are trying to profit from division and from exploiting our planet, I want to bring positive imagination to politics – building community and resilience, strengthening our social fabric, and supporting nature.”
Neasa Hourigan losing the seat in the 2024 general election was an encapsulation of the Greens’ electoral woes in 2024; Hourigan achieved 12.3% of first preferences in the 2020 general election, but that fell to 6% in the 2024 general election as progressive voters who gave them a first preference over Sinn Féin in 2020 abandoned the party.
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon saw a 4% rise in first preferences compared to 2020, while Labour TD Marie Sherlock increased Labour’s share of the vote from 5.4% to 7.5%, meaning that the 6% drop in the Green vote broke for other progressive parties.
Recent Red C polls have the Social Democrats polling at 13% in Dublin, a rise from 9% in January 2025, Labour have remained consistent on around 4-5%, while the Greens are polling on 2% in Dublin, dropping from 4% this time last year.
Horner joins an ever-expanding list of candidates for the by-election; fellow North Inner City Councillor Daniel Ennis will line out for the Social Democrats, as well as independent councillor Malachy Steenson and People Before Profit candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin.
Fine Gael insiders have indicated that current Lord Mayor Ray McAdam will get the nod for the party, while the Sinn Féin candidacy is said to be between activist Gillian Sherratt and North Inner City councillor Janice Boylan.
Sherratt came to national prominence as a critic of Simon Harris, with Sherratt painting Harris as a manifestation of the failed Irish healthcare system, which caused the death of her son, Harvey Morrison Sherratt.
Morrison Sherratt passed away while waiting for surgery for scoliosis; in 2017, when Harris was Minister for Health, he claimed that “no child” would be waiting longer than four months for scoliosis surgery – the child was placed on a waiting list for the surgery in February 2022 and passed away in July 2025 after not receiving the surgery.
Sherratt’s potential candidacy, first reported by the Irish edition of The Sunday Times, has caused tension within the local Sinn Féin branch; Boylan was Mary Lou McDonald’s running mate in the 2024 general election and has been a councillor for the North Inner City since 2014, while Sherratt has never held public office and is from Clondalkin.
Sinn Féin’s candidate will be decided at a convention, which is yet to be held.