Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (55) has been a Sinn Féin councillor in Gorey for the last decade and works as a special education teacher in a primary gaelscoil.

He grew up on a small dairy farm in the area and spent years working as a teacher in Ballymun and Finglas in north Dublin before returning to north Wexford.

The father-of-one describes himself as a “lifelong republican”, and he has written four books on local and republican history.

Entering national politics, he said he aims to focus on housing, affordable rents and infrastructure to improve congestion in the constituency’s two main towns. He said he also wants to tackle the cost of living and to improve services for mental health and special needs.