Louis O'Hara | |
|---|---|
.jpg) O'Hara in 2022 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| Assumed office November 2024 | |
| Constituency | Galway East |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1997/1998 (age 27–28)[1] |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Alma mater | University of Galway |
Louis O'Hara (born 1997/1998) is an IrishSinn Féin politician who has been aTeachta Dála (TD) for theGalway East constituency since the2024 general election.[2][3]
The son of a solicitor,[1] O'Hara is from Cashla, a townland inAthenry civil parish. O'Hara graduated with aBachelor of Arts in Public and Social Policy and aMaster of Arts in Public Activism and Advocacy, both from theUniversity of Galway.[1][4]
O'Hara joined Sinn Féin at the age of 17, stating he was drawn in by the party's focus on representing young people.[5]
O'Hara stood unsuccessfully at the2019 local elections toGalway County Council.[6] At the2020 general election, aged 22 and still a student at University of Galway, O'Hara lost out toAnne Rabbitte of Fianna Fáil.[7][5]
Following the election of Sinn Féin's Midlands North West MEPMatt Carthy as TD for Cavan-Monaghan in February 2020 and his replacement as MEP byChris MacManus of Sligo, O'Hara became constituency manager for MacManus, a role he held until the 2024 general election.[8]
In 2020 O'Hara criticised Sinn Féin's Northern Ireland Finance MinisterConor Murphy after Murphy stated thatPaul Quinn, who was murdered in 2007, was involved in smuggling and criminality.[1]
O'Hara was elected at the2024 local elections to Galway County Council for theAthenry–Oranmore area.[5]
At the 2024 general election, O'Hara was elected Teachta Dála for the Galway East constituency, having won 14% of the first preference vote.[9] In a party selection convention held shortly after the general election, Martin McNamara was selected to replace O'Hara on Galway County Council as a Sinn Féin councillor representing the Athenry-Oranmore local electoral area.[10]
O'Hara has campaigned on the issues of housing, health, transport, and rural development, with a particular focus on dereliction in towns across County Galway,[11] a reduction in rents and provision of affordable housing,[12][13] reopening theWestern Railway Corridor to connectTuam andAthenry with Galway City as well as an increase and enhancement of primary healthcare services.[14] O'Hara has also highlighted the destructive role that large corporations are playing in relation to the issue ofclimate change; His 2020 manifesto stated "If we are serious about tackling the climate crisis we must target those who are responsible for pollution".[1] As the spokesperson for Galway East Sinn Féin in January 2021, O'Hara published an opinion piece in the Galway Advertiser newspaper where he outlined some of the rationale for holding a referendum to affect constitutional change on the issue of Irish unity. In the article he references research carried out by Dr Kurt Huebner[15] of the University of British Columbia which forecast that "Irish Unity would deliver a €35.6 billion boost in GDP for the island in the first eight years after unification, resulting in more jobs, higher wages, and more money to spend on public services".[16][17]