Sorca Clarke

Sorca Clarke (born 1978/1979) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency since the 2020 general election.[2] She was elected on the first count and is the first Sinn Féin TD to serve the constituency since Ruairí Ó Brádaigh in 1957.[3]

Sorca Clarke
TD
Clarke in 2022
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
February 2020
ConstituencyLongford–Westmeath
Personal details
Born1978 or 1979 (age 44–45)[1]
Dublin, Ireland
Political partySinn Féin
SpouseDarren Caulfield
Children4

Political career

Clarke joined Sinn Féin in 2004[4] and first ran for office in 2009 when she unsuccessfully stood in the 2009 Irish local elections for Mullingar West in County Westmeath.[5] She succeeded in her next attempt and became a member of Westmeath County Council at the 2014 local elections.[5] She lost her seat on the council in the 2019 elections, placing just 9th out of 14 candidates, but became a Teachta Dála in 2020 as part of Sinn Féin's surge that year, topping the poll in her constituency.[6]

Early and personal life

Clarke is from Artane, Dublin. She moved to Mullingar with her husband, Darren Caulfield, in 2005 where they run a security business together[4][7] They have four children, including one with autism.

Clarke's grandfather was a member of the Irish Republican Army and was interned in the Curragh Camp for membership of a proscribed organisation. In his later years, he joined Sinn Féin the Workers' Party following the 1969 split.[4]

References
  1. Carswell, Simon; Keena, Colm (13 February 2020). "Younger voters consider IRA past to be 'history', say new Sinn Féin TDs". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  2. "Sorca Clarke". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  3. "Sinn Féin Storms Ahead In First Longford-Westmeath Count". Midlands 103. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  4. Ryan, Tim (2020). Nealon's Guide to the 33rd Dáil and 26th Seanad and the 2019 local and European elections. The Irish Times. p. 120.
  5. "Sorcha Clarke". Elections Ireland. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. Keena, Colm (11 February 2020). "Longford-Westmeath results: Sorca Clarke tops poll as Boxer Moran loses seat". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. "Election 2020: Sorca Clarke (Sinn Féin)". Irish Times. 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
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