From toilet cubicle to Dáil chamber - Limerick TD's election drama

LABOUR TD Conor Sheehan has packed a lot into his first seven months in the Dail - and he’s determined to do more.

From becoming his party’s spokesperson on the seemingly never-ending issue of housing and homelessness, to making regular appearances on the national media circuit and drafting new legislation, the 32-year-old is always on the go.

When the Leader catches up with him as the Dail goes into its summer recess, he apologises profusely for being late.

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He raced over to the Limerick Strand Hotel from his office at Mary Street in the city centre after helping a constituent with an urgent issue.

Interestingly, the Corbally man’s office was, up to last November, home to The Green Party's Brian Leddin, who he replaced as a TD in dramatic circumstances.

It feels as if this is as good a place as any to start our interview from.

Traditionally, the fourth seat in Limerick City has always been a lottery, and it was no different this time, as Mr Sheehan battled with councillor Elisa O’Donovan for the berth in Leinster House.

The pair changed places several times, with the Social Democrats councillor significantly ahead at one point.

Even legendary pollster, and Labour stalwart Joe Kemmy had called it for Cllr O’Donovan.

But it was his own father, and director of elections, Peter who Conor turned to for advice.

“My dad was my director of elections. He has a very good head for numbers - he was very clear there was a path, and he had sketched it out for me, what way things could go. I’d always listen to him above and beyond anyone else. He is an industrial chemist, he is very clinical about it, he looks at things from a very mathematical point of view. He has this battered notebook, and he’d be scrawling ‘plus 37', plus 17', and you could barely read his handwriting,” Mr Sheehan explained.

But in nervous moments, sometimes you need your own headspace - and the Labour man sought it out in the most unlikely of spots at Limerick Racecourse, where the City count was dragging on into the late hours of a Sunday night.

“I was so all over the place towards the end, I spent the last two counts of the General Election in the toilet at Patrickswell Racecourse. I hid in a cubicle. I needed some alone time, the car was too far from the building, so if the last count was called, it’d be too far. When I went upstairs, there was an awful smell of dinner which was making me quite nauseous because I couldn’t eat,” he recalls.

Since his election, Mr Sheehan has not looked back, with Labour leader Ivana Bacik immediately making him the party’s spokesperson on the housing crisis.

It’s an issue all too close to the TD’s heart, having “lived like a monk” with his parents for years in order to afford a mortgage.

He said: “To me, given this, I felt was a vote of confidence in me and my abilities. But also, unfortunately, there is no end to the bad news. Everything is getting worse: homelessness, house prices, rents and the availability of housing is at an all time low. So there is no shortage of things to talk about.

“To be fair to the Government - and I generally am quite balanced - the fundamentals of the economy are relatively sound. Where we are going wrong is in terms of housing and public services. That’s because of the ideology of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and the way they have run things, and that needs to change,” said the City TD, who asked: “What good is a €7 per week tax cut, when you can’t get a dental appointment, a GP appointment? We’ve become a country of waiting lists.”

Mr Sheehan describes his party leader as “a great personal friend and mentor”, and somebody he gets on “exceptionally well” with.

“People know what she stands for. She is not reactionary, she has a strong set of values. I find her quite inspiring to work with. One thing I like about her on the most basic human level is, she is always generally in good form, she brings good and positive energy with her. There’s a lot to be said for that.”

Above: Conor Sheehan proudly holds a framed copy of the Limerick Leader's front page of December 2, 2024, which proclaimed his dramatic eleciton

One cannot talk about Labour in Limerick and not mention former Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan.

They remain in regular contact.

“Jan is the most successful politician the Labour party ever had in Limerick by a long mile. Between the Dail and the Seanad, she was there for 27 years. Jan is always good to give me advice. I talk to her an awful lot. I find her incredibly wise. I think we are so lucky as a party to still have her. She has still stayed involved - and she doesn’t need to be involved. She is retired,” said Mr Sheehan.

Indeed, Ms O’Sullivan was the reason why he joined Labour in 2016 - inspired that she stood by her principles, which may not have always been popular.

“We need that sort of bravery today. One of the things that really concerns me is the rise in racism, and some people’s inability to call it out. Yes, our public services are under pressure. But no, that is objectively not the fault of migrants,” Mr Sheehan said, adding he believes it suits some members of Dail Eireann to target new arrivals.

“They have nothing better to say. They have no ideas on how to solve some of the problems we have. They don’t have a plan. So they think, do you know what? Blame the foreigners. It’s a trick as old as time. It’s a ruse, and people should not fall for it,” said the first-term TD.

There is a crowded field on what Mr Sheehan describes as the “centre left” of Irish politics -and he believes there needs to be far greater co-operation between Labour, the Green Party, and the Social Democrats.

“Parties on the left should not be taking lumps out of one another. We have more in common than that which divides us. The centre-left parties need to be much better at transferring between one another. It’s about trying to see what's the maximum number of people from both parties we can get elected by working together," said Mr Sheehan.

“We live in a very fragmented political space. It's a reality. One of the things my party leader has led on is around the idea of having a centre-left alliance. This is common in other European countries. You could get 30 or 40 TDs elected like this. Imagine the influence that bloc would have in regard of negotiating with the three bigger parties. It would also allow great policy leverage," he said.

Mr Sheehan “wouldn't rule anything out” when asked whether he'd like to lead Labour in the future.

But he feels Ms Bacik could be at the helm of the party for a decade.

“For me, it's less about being leader. It's more about making sure the party takes the leadership role in offering people an alternative.”

As one of the few openly gay TDs in Ireland, Mr Sheehan admits he has received some homophobic abuse online - something he has combatted by reducing his contact, particularly on X, formerly Twitter.

It's actually when he speaks up for the Trans community he feels more abuse.

“They are a small group of people, but they are incredibly marginalised, and they have the worst healthcare in this country by a mile. It's shocking, it's criminal what we as a State are putting a really small group of people through. It's something I've tried to advocate for,” he said.

Reflecting on the fleeting nature of opportunity, and life in general, Mr Sheehan is determined to make every moment count.

“It's such an honour and such an opportunity. I am very keen to not waste a minute of it. I always find these things, and life in general is fleeting, and before you know it, three, four or five years is gone. You don't know if you will ever get the opportunity to do it again. So I am very keen to be productive while I can.”