Galway women elected to FF Ard Comhairle

THE Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin has congratulated Cllr Mary Hoade and Stephanie Murphy-Penn, who were elected by Fianna Fáil members to the Ard Comhairle at the weekend. 32-year-old Stephanie Murphy-Penn from Claregalway is Honorary Secretary of the Galway West Comhairle Dáil Cheantair and is involved in a wide range of local community groups.  Cllr Mary Hoade is from Headford and is one o [private] f the few outgoing members of the Ard Comhairle who was re-elected.  She has also served as National Vice Chairperson of Ógra FF. Both women were elected to the Committee of 20 on the  National Executive, beating off stiff competition from a record number of candidates at party's Ard Fheis in Dublin at the weekend. Speaking afterwards, Stephanie Murphy-Penn said: 'It is a wonderful honour to be chosen by Fianna Fáil members to represent them on the Ard Comhairle.  I am committed to the renewal of Fianna Fáil from the grassroots up. I will be a voice for the members, and will push for continued reform within Fianna Fáil and within politics in this country.' Cllr Mary Hoade said: 'I want to thank the members who put their trust in me to represent them again on the Ard Comhairle. I am committed to rebuilding and rejuvenating the party. For the first time, there were more women than men elected this weekend. Four out of five of the party's new vice presidents are female, while half of the newly elected Committee of 20 members are also female. This is a testament to the calibre of the female candidates, and a true sign of Fianna Fáil's real commitment to reform.  We are committed to radically increasing female participation in politics and the Ard Comhairle will lead the way.' Leader Micheál Martin thanked the hundreds of members from across Galway city and county for attending the Ard Fheis. [/private]