THERE’S a great saying that once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. This certainly rings true of newly-elected Sinn Féin senator Joanne Collins. After being elected to the Seanad agricultural panel last month, she has now vowed to be a strong voice for the people of County Limerick, writes Limerick Post reporter Alan Jacques.
The historic nature of the Cappagh, Askeaton, woman’s election isn’t lost on her either. A qualified special needs assistant and married mother of four, Joanne is the first Oireachtas Sinn Féin member for County Limerick in the modern era.
When I caught up with her on a beautiful March morning by the banks of the River Deel, she deemed her swift political elevation a huge privilege and a challenge she was ready to wholeheartedly embrace.
Passionate about rural Ireland and ensuring her constituents have the same access to services as there urban dwelling counterparts, Senator Collins has proven a real grafter whose sheer grit and determination has been instrumental in her success to date.
She relishes the opportunity to work on behalf the rural towns and villages of County Limerick, and, in particular, championing Section 39 workers and those in the voluntary sector.
Joanne’s still getting used to being addressed as Senator, which gives me a giggle, and just as I would on first meeting with any new politician, I am curious to know where her political aspirations came from.
“It was actually during Covid. I remember sitting at home watching the debacle on Dáil TV, where Leo Varadkar had leaked the GP agreement,” she tells me.
“I was sitting there and I was like, nobody is ever held to account in this place. There’s so much going on, and they just get away with it and say, ‘oh, sorry, lessons will be learned’.
“I had never been into politics. I followed it a little bit, but there was no politics in my house growing up so I didn’t really know the difference between the parties, but I always voted Sinn Féin”
That was the moment that inspired Joanne to take up the call.
“A couple of months later, Sinn Féin were looking for candidates to put their names forward, I hummed and hawed, and said I’ll throw my name in and see how it goes. Everything just kind of fell in a row and I kind of just went for it.”
‘I went against the grain’
A former student of Laurel Hill Coláiste and Salesians College in Pallaskenry, Joanne spent her formative years in Dooradoyle before moving to Cappagh in rural West Limerick with her family at 17. At this difficult milestone, for any adolescent, she admits she thought her life was over moving away from the city.
Now, Joanne, who previously worked in finance, volunteers in her local community and currently holds the position of chairperson of Cappagh Creche.
It’s all come full circle for the once stroppy teen, who now sits on the Seanad’s agricultural panel, a sector she considers “the backbone of our country, sustaining our rural communities, driving local economies, and shaping our national identity”.
But what would 17-year-old Joanne make of her current juncture in life?
“Oh, my God, what have you done to yourself?” she jokes.
“I didn’t see this coming. I was the troublesome teenager. My poor parents always said I’d get my karma. I was never arrested or anything like that, I just went against the grain.
“When I finished school, I did everything. I qualified as a beautician and decided the day after I graduated that I didn’t really like it, so I didn’t pursue it. I’m a qualified SNA. I worked in finance. I worked in sales and marketing. I’ve done a little bit of everything, and now out of nowhere, I’m where I am.”
‘My aim is to take the TD seat next time’
Joanne says that she is “one of those true believers – and I’m not very religious, by any means – that everything happens for a reason”.
“When I decided I was going to do this, I worked really hard and tried my best to change the mindset of County Limerick and get Sinn Féin into power.
“I have the senator’s role and I am really going to work as hard as I can – morning, noon and night – and my aim is to take the TD seat next time.”
As a mother of four, Senator Collins says she has experienced first hand some of the hardships facing families and is very passionate in finding ways to alleviate some of the pressures being endured.
Joanne’s priorities going forward now include better rural public transport, broadband, and improved access to rural childcare, as well as working to tackle the crises in housing, health, and the cost of living.
“We always get left behind. Even when you consider the last two storms. I stood up after the last storm and said it wasn’t that bad, because we had electricity back within five days. That’s a bad thing to have to say,” she reflects.
“When we had the snow, you couldn’t leave the house. It’s fine if you are living on one of the main roads, they ploughed them. But then while they ploughed them, they blocked all the side roads coming off that main road. So there was people eight, nine days with no electricity, no water, no heat.
“It was tough going. Like, there was a tractor going up and down around Carrigkerry, dropping bits of shopping to people. It is hard when you see that kind of stuff. Our infrastructure just isn’t up to scratch. My father lives next to me in Cappagh, and he always says that if a dog barks the electricity will go. We lost electricity last Christmas on Christmas Day and the wind wasn’t even blowing.”
Senator Collins wants to see the 27th Seanad Éireann become a place where real change happens, where rural Ireland is not treated as an afterthought, and where policies reflect the lived realities of the people she serves. Her focus, she tells me, is to work with colleagues across the political spectrum to ensure that fairness, equality, and opportunity are at the heart of everything they do.
As I leave Askeaton after our interview, I think to myself, it’s true what they say – “there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”
