A Galway native is again bidding to make history in contesting the upcoming British General Election – and bidding to be the only MP born in the Republic of Ireland in the next House of Commons.
Frances Rehal – originally Hynes – has already been honoured in her adopted homeland with an MBE for services to children and families.
But having stood two years ago, the native of Srah – near Craughwell, about four miles from Loughrea – is now contesting the seat for North Thanet in Kent on behalf of the Labour Party. The incumbent is Roger Cale, a Tory who has held the seat since 1983.
And were she to succeed against the odds in this Conservative stronghold on June 8, she would be the only first generation politician from the Republic in the House of Commons.
Frances is the daughter of Michael and May Hynes – both now deceased – and she attended the local primary school and St Raphael’s in Loughrea.
She then trained as a nurse at King’s College Hospital in London and did her health visitor training at Brighton Polytechnic.
She completed her degree at University of Greenwich and is now completing a PhD at the university of Canterbury Christ Church in Kent.
And while she has built her life in the UK – and been honoured for her public service – she still holds her home place dear in her heart, despite the fact that her family are no longer living there.
“My parents are both dead and my brother Anthony who was the farmer has also died. But we still have the farm in Srah and I visit there on a regular basis. My other family members are on the east coast,” she said.
The Galway woman’s main election platform is health, having worked in the public sector as a health visitor, an NHS manager, Sure Start Director and children’s centre development manager for the county.
She has expressed particular concern about the high levels of child poverty, the huge discrepancy in life expectancy and the rising levels of foodbank use.
“I’m a school governor at two schools and I see first-hand the impact of the huge hole in school funding which has affected the curriculum and staff levels,” she said this week.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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