To find out more about how politics is organised in Ireland and how Mayo County Council works, then a free online course for women is available.
Beginning on Thursday, November 7, and finishing on Thursday, November 14, the free online (Zoom) course entitled ‘An Introduction to Politics’ aims to demystify politics for women and encourage them to engage in electoral politics.
There will be two classes on each of the Thursdays, providing a choice of a morning class from 10 until 11.30 a.m. or an evening class from 8 until 9.30 p.m.
Martina Hughes, head of corporate development and communications, welcomed the funding made available to Mayo County Council through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deliver this programme.
She outlined that the aim of the programme is to work towards increasing the number of women in local politics and to encourage more women from diverse backgrounds to participate in local government to the greatest extent possible and to realise the council’s ambition of a more diverse representation of candidates in Mayo.
Dr. Michelle Maher, programme manager for See Her Elected, explained: “We want to see more women being elected to Mayo County Council. Only three of the 30 county councillors in Mayo are women, making it one of the lowest in the country in terms of female representation.
“In fact, there have only been 12 women in total ever elected to Mayo County Council since Nellie Robinson was elected back in 1967. Women’s perspective and their valuable expertise is largely absent from decision-making over the last 100 years.”
There are two ways to register for the classes: via Eventbrite on https://www.eventbrite.ie/o/see-her-elected-30519632360 or by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (stating whether you wish to attend the morning (10 a.m.) or evening (8 p.m.) class.
It is intended that further in-person workshops will take place across Mayo next year. Also planned for early 2025 are free screenings of the film about Ireland’s first female president – Mayo’s own Mary Robinson. Mrs Robinson tells Mary’s story, in her own words, for the very first time, and plans are underway to have local showings in arts centres across the county. Details will be available shortly from Mayo County Council.
