Niall Ó Tuathail's declaration to run as the Social Democrat candidate for Galway-West in Election 2016 comes as little surprise, despite the fact that he originally announced his candidacy, earlier this year, as an Independent.
Mr Ó Tuathail has never made any secret of the fact that he would consider joining a party with whose vision he felt comfortable. The fact that the Social Democrats was co-founded by Stephen Donnelly - along with Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy - made his move to the new entity more a matter of when, rather than if. Mr Ó Tuathail ran Dep Dep Donnelly's canvassing campaign in the 2011 election.
“I have always been driven by having a positive impact on people’s lives and improving society around me and when politics is done right there’s no better place to have a big impact," Mr Ó Tuathail said at the recent launch of his SD candidacy. "With the Social Democrats, there is finally a party with the leadership, positive social vision and the competence to make it happen. We need this kind of politics in Galway if we are going to fix our healthcare system, housing crisis, and allow our region to realise its potential."
Mr Ó Tuathail spent many years working abroad in the health and infrastructure practices of McKinsey & Co. He now lives in Galway with his partner Eva, and their son, and runs software design business Mobile Clipboard. He also ran the Yes Equality campaign in Galway.
