Paddy Holohan leaves Sinn Fein
By Maurice Garvey
TALLAGHT Councillor Paddy Holohan announced his decision to leave Sinn Féin – citing the party’s refusal to share findings of a disciplinary investigation into comments he made on a podcast last year as key factor.
Elected in 2019 for Tallaght South, the former UFC fighter has courted controversy during the course of his term.
Cllr Paddy Holohan
He was suspended from the party in January 2020 due to comments he made on a podcast regarding the alleged use of sexual extortion by women, and comments about Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Irish heritage.
Speaking to The Echo, Cllr Holohan said he “had asked Sinn Féin to share the investigation findings many times to no avail, I have now shared them with the elected members.”
Confirming he has not renewed his membership of the party in an Instagram post earlier today, Cllr Holohan felt it “highly unfair” that findings of the investigation were not released to the public.
“The findings of the investigation have not been released to the public, to the media, or to the members of Sinn Féin themselves. I find this highly unfair considering I respected the investigation, and I have stayed silent on this matter up until now,” he said.
Holohan was reinstated in June, but further disciplinary action would follow last month after he publicly supported a Balbriggan beauty salon who opened in defiance of Covid restrictions.
“I want to stress I was not asking anybody to break any regulations or restrictions in this post, I was merely showing my support for a business that had found itself in a similar situation to thousands of other businesses across the country,” he said.
“Cllrs King and Cllr Dunne have been an incredible support to me and I will remain working closely with them in SDCC.”
Holohan said he will continue to move forward and work with fellow councillors in SDCC, but he will “not be affiliated to any party.”
The party confirmed today that he had not renewed his membership and would no longer represent the party on South Dublin County Council.
There has been some upset amongst Sinn Fein members in Tallaght and there could be further resignations from the party in the near future.
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