Quick Facts
Biography
Saoirse McHugh (born 1990) is an Irish Green Party politician. She unsuccessfully contested the Midlands-North West constituency in the 2019 European parliament elections and Mayo in the 2020 general election.
Early life and education
McHugh is from Achill Island.She holds a Bachelors of Science from University College Dublin and a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Lancaster University.
2019 European parliament elections
McHugh achieved notability in the final days of the campaign for her robust challenge to Peter Casey during a television debate.“Millionaires blaming migrants is an old trope and it’s boring,” McHugh commented.She also advised Casey to "go on Dancing With The Stars if you want attention that much."Irish media described exit polls showing McHugh, a first-time candidate, at 12% for first preference votes as a "shock."She was part of the so-called "Green Wave" of this election which saw unexpected support for the party throughout Ireland.McHugh received 51,019 (8.58%) first-preference votes, putting her in sixth place out of seventeen candidates and two places behind Peter Casey.She was eliminated after the eleventh count.
2020 general election candidate
On October 21, 2019, McHugh confirmed that the Green Party had selected her as a general election candidate for Dáil Éireann.Writing in the Irish Times, the political analyst Harry McGee identified McHugh as one of his six "dark horse" candidates in the election.