'It is pretty exhausting' says General Election candidate who missed out on a seat this time

Green Party candidate Iva Pocock was drained when it was confirmed she wasn’t going to secure a seat: “It is exhausting. I’m disappointed but I’m also very grateful to everybody who voted for me.

“It is a very humbling experience to know that these people put ‘number 1’ beside my name. 

“People have said to me that they were delighted to be able to vote ‘Green’.

“It is a pretty nerve-wracking experience. I certainly haven’t entered into it lightly,” the Cloughjordan resident said about the election.  She travelled far and wide spreading the word  about the environment  both locally and globally.

Her policies mattered but getting the word out takes a lot she says: “I have run in two elections this year and it is pretty exhausting.

 “I am passionate about getting more women in the Dáil and in politics but we live in a culture where men have dominated politics and it is very hard to change. There have been only four women elected since the formation of the State in Tipperary,” she says. 

It is still that way after Election 2024 with all the women “runners’” amongst “the also rans” this time.  While 15 of the 43 constituencies had no women TDs in the outgoing Dáil, this figure is expected to be 14 out of 31 constituencies after this General Election.

Imelda Goldsboro came closest in Tipperary South while Iva as well as Phyll Bugler and Diana O’Dwyer all faltered at the final hurdle. 

As the dust settles now, eyes will slowly turn to the future and candidates  hope for change. 
With lessons learned, hope springs eternal.