See Her Elected: Politics needs you!

There have only ever been 15 women elected to Westmeath County Council, and currently just three of the 20 council seats are occupied by women.

See Her Elected (SHE) wants to change that. Although the next local elections won’t take place until 2029, SHE is urging women in Westmeath to start preparing now.

In the last local elections, only 17 of the 48 candidates who ran in Westmeath were women. Nationally women hold almost 27% or 256 council seats, out of 949 seats across the 31 local authorities. See Her Elected wants to see that number grow, and to see more women elected in 2029.

To support this, SHE will host a free online Election Workshops that will begin in January 2026. The workshops are open to women who are curious about how local politics works, thinking about running for election, or keen to get involved in another woman’s campaign.

Programme Manager, Dr Michelle Maher, explained: “We’re targeting women living in rural Ireland because they know what needs to be done to make our communities better. Whether you’re just politically curious, inspired by recent events, or determined to run for office, these workshops are for you. Politics needs you, so start with SHE. We’ll show you exactly what’s involved.”

Dr Maher explained that the initiative is for all women: “Our Election Workshops offer practical, friendly, and accessible support. If you can see yourself as a candidate or part of a campaign team for the 2029 local elections, sign up at www.seeherelected.ie.”

Running from January to June, the one-hour online workshop will be repeated four times each month at different times to suit all schedules from 7am, 10am, 1pm, and 8pm. Hosted through the SHE Academy, these flexible sessions allow participants to choose the time that fits best with their lives.

The workshops also complement SHE’s newly updated Guide to Running in the 2029 Local Elections, the only book of its kind in Ireland. Every participant receives a free copy, packed with step-by-step advice on every aspect of planning and running a successful election campaign.

SHE is part of Longford’s Women’s Link and is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Everyone participating in our workshops is understood to hold the same values as See Her Elected, and a copy of the Values Statement is available on the website.