Longford criticised over local politics gender gap and failure to elect female chair

See Her Elected is a Programme under Longford Women's Link funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Pictured are Dr Michelle Maher, Megan Flynn Dixon and Elaine Duggan of SHE. | Longford Leader

placeholder image — See Her Elected is a Programme under Longford Women's Link funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Pictured are Dr Michelle Maher, Megan Flynn Dixon and Elaine Duggan of SHE. | Longford Leader

See Her Elected said Longford and nine other counties failed to elect a woman as chairperson of a municipal district recently.

A notable gender gap is evident in local politics in county Longford according to a new report.

See Her Elected or SHE supports women in rural Ireland to be candidates in local elections.

They said Longford and nine other counties failed to elect a woman as chairperson of a municipal district recently.

Longford Municipal District, Ballymahon Municipal District and Granard Municipal District in recent weeks all appointed men as their respective new chairs for the 2026-2027 period.

See Her Elected say the recent appointment of Municipal District (MD) and Municipal Borough District Chairpersons across Ireland has 'once again highlighted the significant gender gap in local political leadership'.

Of the 100 Municipal District Chair positions filled, just 23 went to women – just one up on last year.

A total of 10 counties failed to select a single female MD chair and those included Longford, Westmeath, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick and Monaghan.

SHE supports women across rural Ireland to become county councillors and to be part of their campaign teams. Free workshops, free online education.