Independent Galway West by-election candidate Michael Ryan said his decision to enter politics was driven by what he described as a “lack of representation for the Irish people”.
Ryan, who is known online as “Legal Eagle” on TikTok, told Gript he had attended protests around the country before deciding to contest the by-election.
“What drove me into politics is the lack of representation for the Irish people, and the lack of action by the government,” Ryan said.
Ryan, who holds a degree in law and studied forensic psychology in Dublin, said issues raised repeatedly on the campaign trail included the cost of living, local council inaction, and concerns around immigration and planning restrictions in Gaeltacht areas.
“The Irish should be put first in housing,” he said.
Ryan also voiced support for recent fuel protests and criticised what he described as government inaction in response to farmers’ and hauliers’ concerns.
“I totally agreed with the fuel protestors,” Ryan said.
“They were hard-pressed… they had no choice, they’re suffering.”
He added: “They still are suffering, with EU regulations. Their quota for fishing is totally down.”
He also slammed certain green environmental proposals, claiming that one man he spoke to had to get rid of the chimney in his house, and then had to get it replaced again because it wasn’t suitable, which Ryan says cost the man €4,000.
The Galway candidate additionally argued that Independent representatives could still have an impact despite not being part of larger political parties.
“I can be a voice,” Ryan said.
“I’d be that person that would come out… and meet them protesters, and I’ve no issue at all standing against tyranny of the government and their policy.”
He said that he had very little interest in politics prior to last year’s “Spoil The Vote” campaign at the Presidential election.
“Before that, I had no interest whatsoever, really, in politics,” he said.
“I followed it a small bit, but in university, I was hoping to go down the FE-1 route and be a solicitor. But now I’ve changed the route, because with the way I see the country gone, because it’s just gone in an awful direction. And the people are not being underrepresented. ”
He said that while he had no issue with “legal immigration,” he believed that many non-natives were being prioritised by the State, and that “it could be said that we’re discriminated against by other nationalities”.
While not a fluent Irish speaker himself, he says he supports the promotion of the language. Asked what he’d say to voters who consider his lack of fluent Gaeilge a dealbreaker, he replied: “Look, Irish, of course, it’s important to have the Irish language skills – but it’s not just about just the Irish language. It’s about Irishness in the heart. And I have the heritage, and my grandparents were from the islands, so I had a great chat with the people from the island. So I understand their heritage, their hardship, regardless of the language barrier, you know?”
Meanwhile, separately, in Dublin, Independent candidate and student Colm Flood has said he believes abortion should be available without any legal restrictions, arguing that decisions around the procedure should remain entirely between a woman and her doctor.
Speaking to Gript ahead of the upcoming Dublin Central by-election, Flood said he opposed any legislative limits on abortion, including the current three-day waiting period.
“I believe that that should remain completely with the domain of the doctor,” Flood said.
“…Legislative changes only only shorten to penalise doctors who are trying to deliver a service, penalise women trying to seek a service.”
Flood also said he supported efforts to remove the three-day waiting period and decriminalise abortion for doctors, referencing a failed Social Democrats-backed bill brought before the Dáil earlier this year.
“I think women deserve the respect to know that if this is what they want to do, we’re not going to impose any restrictions on them doing it, so long as their doctor is in agreement,” he said.
When asked directly whether there were any legislative circumstances in which somebody should be denied an abortion, Flood said no.
“No, I believe that that should remain completely with the domain of the doctor,” he said.
Flood, who is running as an Independent candidate in Dublin Central, previously spent several years involved with People Before Profit before leaving the party to pursue politics independently.
During the interview, he said he became disillusioned with what he described as the party’s increasing focus on international activism rather than local casework and grassroots issues.
“They weren’t focusing on national issues and they were more focused on putting people who were popular out into the sphere,” Flood said.
“I just thought… there was quite a lot of disconnect between the party and the the grassroots they say they represented.”
Flood also criticised government spending and management of the health service, describing cost overruns such as the National Children’s Hospital project as “an insult to the Irish people”.
“It’s not acceptable,” he said.
“Nobody is accepting this, and it’s just it’s actually an insult to the Irish people that we’re spending our tax money on what was supposed to be less than a billion euro, and it’s now two-three times over that.”
He advocated for a State construction company and greater State ownership of various sectors rather than leaving them to profit-driven companies.
“The government are not thinking about cost-cutting,” he said.
“They’re not creating a state construction company where they can break even on costs. They’re not thinking of, okay, well the health service needs more funding for clinics to help reduce the waiting list.”
He added: “I was a left-leaning socialist when I was in People Before Profit, I’m more of a centrist now,” he said, noting that he was asking people to give their number 2 vote to Independent Cllr. Malachy Steenson.
He said that while Steenson had made what he termed to be some “racist comments” that he disagreed with during the campaign, the Councillor was a “gentleman” when he had met him previously.
He said that, on immigration, while there were legitimate concerns to be raised, they should not result in ire being directed at immigrants.
“I was there at East Wall, I was there in Newtownmountkennedy when they were coming up with molotovs and people and aggression,” he said.
“There were far-right agitators there – they were fighting to try and, you know, hurt asylum seekers. But they should have been directing their anger towards the government, that’s where the the issues and policy came in. They stuck them in tents in places without consulting people and made the people feel like they were just imposing something.
“So where me and Malachy would align would be holding government accountable, making sure there’s an independent voice in there, and he is a good voice for for his area.”
He said that hospital waiting lists were also of great concern to him.
“I’m on that waiting list 8 years for spinal surgery and I only recently got on another waiting list to have the surgery, which is another 2 years,” he siad.
“And they’re just telling me we just don’t have the budget, we don’t have the time, we’re not allowed to do the overtime. And I’m sitting here going, ‘But surely the health system should be designed in a way that we can actually look after the people that are on waiting lists.’ I mean, you can’t think of anything more important than your health, right?”
While he also conceded that the Government had made some progress on housing in recent years, he said it was inadequate given the scale of the problem.
The Dublin Central by-election is due to take place on Friday, May 22nd, after former Fine Gael TD Paschal Donohoe stepped down from Irish politics to take up a senior position with the World Bank.
The Galway West contest is being held on the same day following former Independent TD Catherine Connolly’s departure from the Dáil after her election as President of Ireland last year.