Troy selected to run for Aontú in Dublin West

Aontú’s has selected councillor Ellen Troy to run in Dublin West. 

Troy won a seat for the party in Castleknock last month, marking an electoral breakthrough for the party in Dublin.

She received a healthy 11.8% of first preferences, enough to get her elected on the 7th count in a competitive constituency.

Troy said she was “honoured” to be the Aontú candidate and said she is “looking forward to being back out on the doors.”

“I am proud and honoured to have been selected by my party colleagues and I look forward to being back out on the doors once again. We spoke to thousands of people during the local elections and their needs are so diverse and so pressing,” she said.

She said that Aontú is arguably “the only coherent and well-organised opposition in the country.”

“We stand up for what we believe in and are a constant and unwavering support for the people of this country who are living through real difficulties at a time when we are told the country is awash with money.  People feel abandoned by the big political parties and more worryingly, by the majority of the opposition. This is not good for the electorate, and it is not good for democracy. People want politicians of integrity and real backbone and they are more attuned now to cynical populist proclamations from those who will change their minds the minute they’re elected.”

She added, “people know that Aontú stands for something, we have a membership of over 2,000 people and this is due to the hard work we do, the principles we stand for and our desire for a fair and just society for all”.

Party Leader Peadar Toibin confirmed that Dublin West is a target seat for the party.

He said that Troy is an “incredibly hard-working, genuine, committed and strong candidate who possesses a true sense of social justice”.”

“Dublin West is a target constituency for Aontú; we won two council seats in this constituency in the locals, narrowly missing out on a third.”

Aontú also saw victory in Ongar, with Gerard Sheehan winning a seat for the party at the expense of other major parties such as Labour, the Social Democrats, the Greens and 4 candidates from Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil.

“The people of Dublin West have responded to the fact that Aontú is the only party listening to the people. Ellen has real calibre, she is literally a Trojan worker and is deeply embedded in her community,” the Meath TD said.

Toíbín said that Troy “has an ear for all and deeply cares for those who are on the margins in any way, and she showed this during the local elections when she organised a raft of fundraising events for groups like Sonas Women’s Refuge in D 15 and Paint For Palestine, for the besieged people of Gaza.”

“She is a tireless and long-standing fundraiser for community groups and I truly believe the people of Dublin West have a golden opportunity to vote for somebody who has the qualities she possesses”