Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew 'turned her back' on Fermanagh and South Tyrone and it failed, says UUP's Diana Armstrong

The UUP general election candidate was responding to the veteran Sinn Fein politician failing to get a European Parliament seat across the border, after ditching the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster seat earlier this year.

Michelle Gildernew lost out, coming sixth in the five-seater constituency following a marathon count. Her replacement Pat Cullen, does not live in the constituency, with her address on the ballot paper listed as South Belfast.

Diana Armstrong told the News Letter: “Fermanagh & South Tyrone is Northern Ireland’s largest constituency by area and one of the largest in the whole of the UK. It is also a constituency with a diverse range of industries and communities, including rural agriculture and urban retail. Having a presence in, and a deep understanding of, the constituency is incredibly important.

“Each constituency is different and I can only speak for my own, but this is a constituency I know very well, and the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone want an MP who is accessible and present within their local community - which I intend to be.

“It’s disappointing to know that Ms Cullen intends to be absent from both Parliament and Fermanagh & South Tyrone. I have no doubt that Pat Cullen could find a home in our large and beautiful constituency and if she hopes to represent it, whether elected or not, I’d call on her to do so.

“Ms Gildernew turned her back on FST for a seat in Europe and the gamble clearly didn’t pay off. My commitment is to the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and unlike Ms Gildernew or Ms Cullen - I will actually stand up and represent my constituents in Westminster.”

Irish voters headed to the polls last Friday to choose 949 local councillors, 14 MEPs and the country’s first directly elected mayor. Sinn Fein had hoped to significantly increase its number of councillors, but came back with just 21 extra seats. It increased its number of MEPs from one to two, but lost its sitting MEP Chris MacManus.

Fianna Fail doubled its presence in the European Parliament to four, with Fine Gael also on four – down one from its previous showing in 2019.

Labour has one seat, the Independent Ireland party claimed one and two non-party aligned independents fill the remainder.

Speaking in the wake of Ms Gildernew’s defeat, Michelle O’Neill claimed that she would now be “hand in hand with Pat Cullen in Fermanagh and South Tyrone to get Pat elected”.

“But there absolutely has to be a role for Michelle [Gildernew] going forward. She has been a stalwart in that constituency for so long and she will be back in whatever form that will take.

“Michelle standing in the Midlands-North-West constituency was both a statement of intent and a statement of ambition.

“In life you can choose to stand still or you can try to edge forward.

“On this occasion it hasn’t worked out, but that doesn’t mean we won’t come back at it again and again and again.”

Mary Lou McDonald said on Friday that she wanted to “acknowledge” Michelle Gildernew “for taking on the European challenge”.

“You haven’t heard the last of her, far from it.

“Michelle Gildernew fought an incredible campaign. She was battling right to the very end; she just missed out.

“Michelle, as you know, is a formidable woman with an incredible record of public representation and public service.

“Be in no doubt that Michelle will feature very strongly within the Sinn Fein team into the future.

“I know, because I’ve been talking to her directly, she will bounce back.”

Earlier this month, Ms Gildernew suffered personal tragedy when her nephew, Fiachra O Faolain, who was in his 20s, died after getting into difficulty in a lake in Co Tyrone.

The candidates in Fermanagh and South Tyrone are Diana Armstrong - UUP, Paul Blake - SDLP, Gerry Cullen - CCLA, Pat Cullen - Sinn Féin, Carl Duffy - Aontú, Eddie Roofe - Alliance.