Seán Sherlock to retire from politics
Cork East Labour TD Seán Sherlock is to retire as a TD at the end of the present Dáil term.
In a statement released last Monday, he said it was time for him to step aside. “This has been a difficult decision and I have made it with a heavy heart. Having considered this with my wife, Máire, my family and my closest political supporters, and as a dad of three young children, I have decided that the time is now right for me to step aside,” he said.
After a career that spanned two decades, Sherlock faced uncertainty after the redrawing of boundaries following the Electoral Commission’s constituency review.
He represented the Cork East constituency, with his base in Mallow. However, with 14,400 people in Mallow and its surrounds now being transferred to the Cork North Central constituency, there were questions over the impact it was going to have on his ability to win votes.
“It would be wrong of me to pretend that the recent publication of the Electoral Commission’s Constituency Report 2023 has not influenced my decision. It has.
“The impact on Mallow and Cork East has been profound. I always anticipated some change to our constituency, but the scale of that change is so extensive that it caused me to reflect on my own political future,” he said.
“I have never been afraid of a political challenge and have fought difficult elections successfully. However this time I had to weigh up the splintering of the areas I have represented and worked hard for over the last 20 years across two constituencies and the immense challenge of trying to get elected in an entirely new constituency,” he added.
Sherlock followed in his father’s Joe’s footsteps who also served as a TD in the Dáil and he said he was “proud to have continued his hard work”.
In 2003, Sherlock embarked on his career as a town councillor for Mallow. Subsequently, he was a member of Cork County Council before securing a seat in the Dáil in 2007. From 2011 to 2016, he held the position of minister of state in three different departments.
Following Wexford TD and former minister and party leader Brendan Howlin's announcement last Friday, he becomes the second Labour Party TD in recent days to declare that he will not seek re-election in the upcoming election.
During Monday’s council meeting elected members took the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr Sherlock, with Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O’Flynn saying: “I want to compliment Seán Sherlock, he has given 19 years to public life, he was a councillor here from 2004 to 2007.
“I know Seán for many, many years. I sat with his father in the old chamber. They’ve given a lifetime of service to politics.
“I understand his reason. There’s a lot of people in the same position, it’s becoming a very, very demanding life.”
Fellow Labour Cllr Cathal Rasmussen also praised Sherlock, saying: “I think he will be a great loss to East Cork and the Mallow area as a whole because he is a great TD.”
Meanwhile Sinn Féin City Councillor Eolan Ryng also announced his resignation this week.
His announcement follows the party's decision to select him to fill Henry Cremin's vacant seat just two years ago, following Cremin's retirement.