Before Fianna Fáil unveiled Gráinne Seoige in September as its celebrity candidate to replace outgoing Connemara stalwart Éamon Ó Cuív TD, the Social Democrats had already been in talks with her younger sister, fellow broadcaster Síle Seoige, initially about running for the European parliament, and later in a possible autumn general election.
“Yes I was approached, and I was extremely flattered, but I’m not in the right phase of my life [to stand for election] whether I felt a pull towards doing it or not,” said Síle, who cited work, family and other pressures for her decision to decline being a candidate.
A Social Democrats spokesman confirmed the party had asked Síle to run for the European Parliament in June, before selecting economist Rory Hearne to contest the Midlands North-West constituency. “The time was not right for her to stand, but we believe she would make an excellent public representative,” he said. Informal conversations about the general election are understood to have followed.
City West councillor, Alan Curran, was widely expected to be selected by Holly Cairn TD’s Social Democrats to run in Galway West, but the Salthill schoolteacher ruled himself out of a November election, citing commitment to his current pupils. The Social Democrats’ Galway City central councillor, Ebhlín Seoighthe (no relation ), was instead selected without contest last week.
Síle Seoige said the Social Democrats is a party she “massively respects and admires,” especially its leader.
“I’ve had Holly [Cairns] on my podcast. She’s someone I massively admire,” she says. “As a political party, I suppose I admire the work that’s being done by them. They are growing, and it’s interesting to watch at the moment.”
The high-profile Gaeilgeoir declined to confirm whether Cairns, who represents Cork South-West, personally asked her to run in November. “No, I don’t want to talk about that. That’s very private,” she said.
Síle is supportive of her sister Gráinne’s election campaign for Fianna Fáil. “It is a brave, and not easy thing to do. Particularly when we have extremely high levels of online abuse and trolling; especially for women. I’ve worked in the media for 26 years, and there is a level of abuse you get with that because you’re in the public eye, but it’s ‘next level’ with politics. So I tip my hat to anyone that does it.”
Working freelance, Silé says she is a busy mother with a young daughter (3 ), and son (7 ). She is married to Damien, a garda from Cork. The 45-year-old announced she overcame a debilitating thyroid cancer diagnosis after a five-year battle in 2017.
Síle is currently working on three documentaries for TG4, on “meaty topics” in the wake of her moving 2021 programme Deireadh Tochta on the grief of miscarriage. She hosts a popular podcast, Ready To Be Real, which touches on a wide range of issues from archaeology, wellness and politics, to interior design, music and fashion.
Síle, who believes “everything is politics, everything’s political,” refuses to rule out an attempt at election in the future, if political and personal conditions are appropriate.
“I would never say ‘never’. Fast forward 10 or 20 years: will I feel different? Maybe. Who knows? Sure, look-at, I’m doing things now in my working life that I wouldn’t have thought I was going to do 10 years ago. So, you know, things change all the time.”
