Exclusive Interview: Patricia Ryan Burns Bridges With Sinn Féin In Scathing Interview On Kfm

When asked about Shona Ni Raghallaigh, she said: "I barely know the girl".

In an exlusive interview on Kildare Today, Kildare South TD, Patricia Ryan, said she felt pushed out of Sinn Fein by party leadership.

She said many members have raised problems and they are not "listened" to.

She said when she attended local meetings, she was often asked to show questions she would ask in advance.

"There were other issues around asking members if they were going to a meeting, to come along and to say ‘we’d really like to see your questions before you ask the leader. Why would you ask somebody that’s a member of a party to come along and have their questions vetted that they’re going to ask the leader of the party? If you’re a member of a party, you should be able to openly ask that question without being curtailed. So there were issues around that," she said.

She said she spoke to party leader Mary Lou McDonald four weeks ago and that issues she highlighted were not being listened to.

"You can't sit here and lie," she said. "This is how I feel."

"They need to listen to people better. They need to listen to their members better."

Sinn Fein has not responded to numerous queries submitted by Kfm.

Responding to allegations of being sidelined in national debates and lacking visibility, Deputy Ryan denied that she was viewed as a "weak" representative within Sinn Féin. She pointed out her active role in parliamentary activities, stating, "I've done a lot of speaking in the Dáil and have submitted numerous parliamentary questions. I have a very busy office in Monasterevin and a walk-in clinic in Athy."

The interview also addressed concerns about the limited operation of her part-time office in Athy.

Deputy Ryan explained that the office initially had a stronger presence but was impacted by staffing issues, including a staff member falling ill.

As a result, she found it difficult to manage both her local duties and her obligations in Dublin. "I'm one person. I can't be everywhere at the one time," she said, adding that her commitments to attend Leaders' Questions and voting sessions in the Dáil also played a role in the office’s limited availability.

An email reportedly sent by members of Sinn Féin in South Kildare raised concerns about Ryan’s leadership, citing her disengagement with the local party and her decision to cease clinics in Allenwood and Castledermot without explanation.

The email also referenced frustration over the Athy office frequently being closed. In response, Ryan defended her office's operations, pointing out that her team remains accessible via email and phone.

Ryan revealed her growing frustration with Sinn Féin, particularly over what she described as the party’s failure to address concerns raised by members and representatives. "I believe in my integrity and my principles, and I felt that I couldn’t do the job I was elected to do under the circumstances I was working with," Ryan said. "I felt the issues were not being dealt with, and for me, it just wasn’t the right fit anymore."

She said her decision to resign was not due to any personal disputes with party leader Mary Lou McDonald or other national figures, but rather a result of feeling unsupported in her role. "I spoke to Mary Lou about four weeks ago, and she assured me they would look into everything. But I’ve been raising these issues for months, and nothing was addressed."

She also said her social media posts was censored and that she  was ordered to take down a social media post about illegal dumping at the Curragh.

The 5000-acre site has been plagued by problems with illegal dumping and encampments.

"There was an issue around an illegal encampment in the Curragh and constituents had come to me to complain about the illegal encampment in the Curragh. I was addressing the issue and I had written to Tánaiste Micheál Martin and I had asked him to take a look at this to see what we could do. I put up on my social media that I was doing that, and I was asked to take it down by the grassroots – the Comhairle Ceantar, the overall county board. It was my social media. It wasn’t theirs. I was elected to do a job, and if I am going to be curtailed, and put in a position that I can’t do that job, well then I’m not doing the job people elected me to do," she said.

When asked if she felt restricted by the party’s leadership, Ryan stated, "I don’t feel pushed by anyone in particular, but I do feel the national leadership hasn’t done the job they were supposed to in addressing the concerns raised by members like myself."

Deputy Ryan’s resignation has reportedly sparked further turmoil within the local Sinn Féin branch, with reports suggesting that some Monasterevin Cumann members have also resigned in solidarity with Ryan. "I’m not here to tell people to leave the party, that’s their decision. But clearly, there’s a lot of discontent."

As for the future, Ryan made it clear that she has no plans to return to Sinn Féin or join any other political party.

"I am not one for burning my bridges," she said, "but I will not return to Sinn Féin. I don't believe I'm the right fit for that party anymore."

She dismissed any notion that her decision to resign was related to competition within the party, particularly the prospect of a contested nomination between her and  Shona Ni Raghallaigh.

"I barely know the girl," she said.

"Anybody that runs in a convention can be contested. So this isn’t an issue. I don’t have any issue with anybody contesting a convention - that’s democracy. I have an issue with other things that have been going on that have not sat comfortably with me for about 18 months. I’ve had many, many sleepless nights over this and many, many hard decisions. I worked for Sinn Féin for the last 15 years in a voluntary capacity, initially, then I became a councillor and then a TD. So this isn’t something that I would rest easy with."

She insisted her decision was based on a long-standing feeling of being unsupported by the party leadership.

"This has been going on for months," she said.

When asked about staff turnover in her office, she acknowledged the situation, noting that several members of her staff had left over the last few years. She explained, "I've had one personal assistant who left, a secretary who got another job closer to home, and another staff member who left due to illness."

She said that while there had been some turnover, it wasn’t excessive. "If you go to any TD’s office, you will see turnovers."

You can listen back to the full interview here: