Sherlock ‘grappling’ with political future after constituency review

Labour TD Seán Sherlock has said he is grappling with whether or not there is a future for him in politics in the wake of the Electoral Commission’s constituency review.

The commission has recommended that some 14,400 people in Mallow and its surrounds - which are currently in the Cork East constituency - are set to be added to the Cork North Central.

Mallow is Mr Sherlock’s hometown and his late father Joe previously represented the area in the Dáil.

Cork North Central is to go from four to five seats as a result of the changes proposed by the Commission.

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In a radio interview on C103′s Cork Today Show, Mr Sherlock said: “The decision is not whether I run in Cork East or Cork North-Central. I think the decision now is whether you run at all, or run in Cork North-Central.

“I’m not being morose about these things and I’m not playing the beál bocht [poor mouth] because that’s not the type of character I’d be.

“What I’m trying to grapple with at the moment... is whether or not there is actually a future for me in politics.”

Mr Sherlock said it may be some time before he makes a decision.

[ Electoral boundaries review: How did your constituency fare? ]

He said the loss of parts of his constituency “feels like the years and years of work that you’ve put in, my late father, myself, is just literally gone in one fell swoop.”

Mr Sherlock, who was first elected to the Dáil in 2007 said: “I could never run in a constituency that I don’t live in. I live in the town of Mallow... My family is in Mallow. I would have to stay with Mallow, no matter what.

“I’m just, I suppose, outlining it in very human terms that I have to now, I’m in the middle now of trying to grapple with the enormity of the decision.”

He said to put things in perspective there are people who have “far more challenges” but he confirmed that he had never considered not running prior to the commission’s review. “The fire was in the belly and the fire is still in the belly to keep going,” he said.

“But what I have to grapple with - I have a young family - what it would mean is you’re literally starting out again, in a whole new territory where you’re trying to form relationships, build up a body of work in such a short space of time... That challenge is a massive undertaking.

“The human element of that is that will mean being out all hours, very hour of the day, every waking moment to try and do that.”

Mr Sherlock said he has to consult with his family as well as party colleagues including councillor John Maher who was the Labour candidate in Cork North-Central in 2020. “We just have to give it a bit of time”.

He said he has not given thought to what he would do if he was to leave politics and that he is continuing his work as a TD.

“My office continues to be open. We continue to work on behalf of the people no matter who comes to us,” he said. “We have a long way to go before any decision is made and I’m very grateful still for the opportunity to continue to represent people.”