Free online course to encourage more Mayo women to get involved in politics

Whether you have ever considered running for local election in Co. Mayo or simply want to find out more about how politics is organised in Ireland and how Mayo County Council works, then a free online course for women from could be just the answer.

Beginning on Thursday, November 7, and finishing on Thursday, November 14, a free online (Zoom) course entitled ‘An Introduction to Politics’ aims to demystify politics for women and encourage them to engage in electoral politics.

The free online classes are for women who want to start to build up a bit of knowledge about politics, the functions of Mayo County Council and the day-to-day job of a county councillor.

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.”

It is commendable that Mayo County Council, recognising the low number of women on the council, are laying the groundwork to do something about it with these classes as a starting point. Important, too, is the fact that Mayo County Council recognises that because women undertake most of the care work within families, it can be hard to juggle everything. For that reason, they have organised for the same class to be run at 10 a.m. and again at 8 p.m. to try and offer some flexibility for women wishing to attend.

The first class on November 7 explains how politics is organised in Ireland and covers presidential, general and Seanad elections, and explains what each arm of government has the power to do and how they interact with each other. Voting and Mayo’s Public Participation Network will also be discussed.

The second class on November 14 is about local politics, with an examination of local elections, what Mayo County Council has responsibility for, how functions are split between the people who work there and those we elect onto the council, and what the job involves.

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 corporatedev@mayococo.ie (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.