Holly Cairns will become next Social Democrats leader

The new leader of the Social Democrats will be Cork South West TD Holly Cairns, after potential rivals on Sunday announced they would back her in a co-ordinated move.

Ms Cairns announced via Twitter that she would stand for the leadership on Sunday morning, and her announcement was followed by endorsements from Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore and Dublin Bay North TD Cian O’Callaghan.

Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon had ruled himself out last week, meaning that Ms Cairns would be unopposed to replace co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall, who said last week they were stepping down after eight years.

[ Holly Cairns profile: Cork horticulturalist who quickly gained a national profile after election to the Dáil ]

At 33, she will be the youngest party leader in the Dáil.

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Ms Cairns, a first-time TD, has been an impressive Dáil and media performer since her surprise election in 2020. She quickly became the favourite after the announcement by Ms Shortall and Ms Murphy last week.

From Turk Head in west Cork, Ms Cairns was elected to Cork County Council in 2019, winning a seat by just one vote, and went on to be elected to the Dáil at her first attempt in 2020. Since then she has been especially vocal on social issues in the Dáil and has developed a strong media profile as perhaps the best known of the party’s TDs.

She recently spoke out about the abuse received by many politicians, especially women, and revealed that a persistent online stalker had begun to show up at her home.

[ ‘When you go to a Social Democrats convention, you’re struck by how young its supporters are’ ]

In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Ms Cairns said she was “grateful for the support of my colleagues in the parliamentary party and members of the Social Democrats all over the country”, adding that she was “blown away by the kind messages coming in from everywhere”.

“This was a big decision and I’m under no illusions about the challenges that lie ahead,” she said. “But I am hugely ambitious for the future of the Social Democrats and determined to build on the excellent foundations that have been laid by Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall.”

[ Social Democrats to hold leadership election as Murphy and Shortall step down ]

She said she would set out her vision for the party when she becomes leader on Wednesday.

The Social Democrats were one of the surprise parties of the last election, winning six seats after going into the campaign with just two.

But Ms Cairns will face significant challenges as the party prepares for the next general election, with at least some of their seats – including perhaps her own – looking vulnerable to a big Sinn Féin vote. Fine Gael will also seek to regain its seat in Cork South West, where it had always held at least one seat.

The Social Democrats were at just 2 per cent nationally in last week’s Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll, a decline of one point since October. Speculation about a merger or alliance with the Labour Party is never far away, though party figures routinely rebuff the suggestion.