Trinity student Carly Bailey will contest the next general election for the Social Democrats in Dublin South West.
Bailey, who has spent recent weeks campaigning for a repeal of the eighth amendment, established the Dublin South West Together for Yes group in 2017. In January, she was elected Vice-Chair of the Social Democrats.
The first in her family to go to college, Bailey entered Trinity through the Trinity Access Programme. Since entering College, she has had a strong presence on campus. She previously held the role of Student Parent Officer in TCDSU, while also speaking in front of thousands of people at the 2016 March for Education organised by USI.
Addressing a crowd in Trinity before this year’s march, Bailey said: “I’ll never stop fighting. I owe it to my children and our future generations.”
After her family lost their home during the recession, she decided to apply to Trinity. Speaking to The University Times previously, she explained that “everybody that we saw that had managed to somehow keep going in the midst of the recession was because they had a degree, they had a qualification”.
In a press statement, Bailey said: “Our communities face enormous challenges in housing and healthcare – but we have learned these past months that with grass roots activism and bold leadership, change is possible. I for one am determined that what happened to me and my family in the recession won’t ever happen again to anyone else.”
“There’s a real hunger and energy among people like myself who campaigned for Repeal to build on last weekend’s momentum to work towards a modern and progressive social democratic republic with fairness and decency as its core values”, she said.
Come the next general election, which some commentators are predicting could be early 2019, Bailey might face competition for a Dáil seat from Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone.
In a press statement, co-leader of the party Catherine Murphy said: “Carly has enormous compassion and energy and she is driven by her deep commitment to build a decent society where no one is left behind.”
