Mr Tomas Mac Giolla, a former leader of both Sinn Fein and the Workers' Party and a former TD for the Dublin West constituency, has announced his retirement from politics. Speaking at a meeting yesterday of the finance committee of Dublin City Council, Mr MacGiolla, who has been a Dublin city councillor for 18 years and who served a term as Lord Mayor in 1993-1994, said his decision to step down was "irrevocable".
After the meeting, he said he had considered his position carefully over the summer months after his failure to win a Dail seat at the general election in June, and had come to the conclusion that the sooner he retired, the better.
"I'm interested in a lot more things than politics, and I'd like time now to devote myself to them," he added.