At the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, Fintan Bray made history as the first person with Down syndrome to be elected to a senior position in an Irish political party. The Westmeath man was elected as Fianna Fáil’s Ard Comhairle (National Executive).
The 28-year-old from Delvin, County Westmeath hails from a family rich in politics. His cousin, Councillor Mike Bray, currently sits on Meath County Council. Mr. Bray has said he is “thrilled” to have been elected and it is his intention to campaign on behalf of people with disabilities “to get paid employment, jobs, and meaningful education.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, was among those who congratulated Mr. Bray on his election success as he wrote on Twitter, “Special mention & congratulations to Fintan Bray on being elected to our Ard Comhairle – the first person with down syndrome to be elected to a senior political party in Ireland.”
Longford County Councillor, Uruemu Adejinmi, who became the first woman of colour to be elected Mayor in Ireland and UCD Agricultural Science student, Cillian Keane were also among the 15 newly elected committee members.
The 80th annual conference, which was held in the RDS from Friday 30th September to Saturday 1st October hosted over 1,500 members of Fianna Fáil from across the 32 counties. It was the party’s first Ard Fheis since the pandemic. Fianna Fáil general secretary Sean Dorgan and Taoiseach Micheál Martin opened the conference, followed by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Olha Stefanushyna who expressed her gratitude to the Irish people for their response to the war.
Méabh Cusack – Politics and News Writer
Image Credit: Micheál Martin’s Twitter Account https://twitter.com/MichealMartinTD/status/1576561296052752387
