Cork TD: 'I was about to speak on radio and suffered an epileptic seizure'

At just 24 years of age, Cork North Central TD Eoghan Kenny of the Labour Party is the youngest TD that has been elected to the 34th Dáil.

Born in February 2000, Mr Kenny also holds the honour of becoming the first TD that was born in the 21st century.

During the build up to the election, Mr Kenny posted on social media about suffering an epileptic seizure while he was about to go on air for an interview on RTÉ Radio.

Mr Kenny recalled the event, along with outlining how he lives with epilepsy, and said it does not hold him back from doing what we wants to achieve.

“It is something that I wouldn’t have publicly discussed only for the fact that it came into the spotlight during the election campaign,” Mr Kenny told The Echo.

“I was about to speak on RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime programme and I suffered an epileptic seizure in their Cork studio.

“I was surrounded by what might have been considered rivals of mine in the election, but the care they gave to me at the time, I was very grateful,” said Mr Kenny. “And the care of the RTÉ staff and the two paramedics that assisted me as well.

“So it came into the spotlight. It is something that people have resonated with throughout the last two or three months since I came out and owned this story myself.

“I thought that was very important as well because I didn’t want it to be told by anybody else, it was my story to tell.

“I gave people the opportunity to listen to me and I am very grateful for the messages of support that I have received since.

“There are people messaging me who are not even in the Cork North Central constituency who have resonated very well with that.”

Mr Kenny continued: “But I think the main message I wanted to get across was: medical condition or no medical condition, go and seek out your dreams whether it is public representation or not.

“For the last 10 years or so my absolute ambition and dream was to become a TD. That has come true now. So it just proves a point, that no matter what medical condition you have or whatever it may be that almost you feel is holding you back, don’t let it hold you back, go seek out your dream.”

Overall there are 15 TDs in the new Dáil who are under the age of 35. A young man that is enthusiastic and determined, the Mallow native sees being the “baby of the Dáil” as a privilege. He is proud to be a voice for the younger generations in Ireland.

“It really is genuinely a privilege to serve the people of Cork North Central in Dáil Éireann,” Mr Kenny said.

“It is a great honour at 24 years of age. There is a mandate from the people to serve them and at such a young age. But at the same time, during the election campaign and for a long time now, I think that there is a real desire in people for a new generation of politicians. I have said it quite a number of times, but I genuinely mean it.

“It is important, I think, that younger people continue to be elected to local authorities and Dáil Éireann. I genuinely feel this generation of people are now the ones that need to be the flag bearers to concentrate on solving the issues that this country faces right now.”

A young man that was, up to quite recently, a business and religion secondary schoolteacher in Mayfield Community School, Mr Kenny joined the Labour Party in 2017, working as a parliamentary assistant to then Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock and under whose guidance he won a seat on Cork County Council.

A keen sports fan, Mr Kenny also is a member of Mallow GAA, Mallow Arts Group, and the Mallow Tidy Towns Committee.

“I joined the Labour Party at a very difficult time for the party, but there were a number of reasons why I joined,” Mr Kenny said.

“You have politicians out there who have created careers out of protesting a populism. But I am not about that.

“I am about delivering change and about delivering public services and public infrastructure, because that is what people need.”

Among the chief priorities for Mr Kenny as a TD are: finding a solution to the ongoing traffic congestion crisis in Mallow; tackling the thorny issue of dereliction in Mallow; upgrading public infrastructure, and ensuring all of the amenities in Mallow are utilised fully to their potential.

“I genuinely feel the people of Cork North Central have a lot of trust and faith in the Labour Party,” Mr Kenny said.

“My office is open and I am willing to listen to the concerns and the issues that the people are facing across this county, in particular in the constituency of Cork North Central,” Mr Kenny said. “So don’t ever hesitate to get in touch with me or my office whenever a scenario arises.”