Vote No.1Ciara for PRESIDENT

“My vision and goal for

the organisation for the

next term is to rebuild and

revitalise our organisation.

We need to place a

stronger emphasis on the

recruitment and motivation

of our membership, we need

to improve our campaigning

techniques and we need to

focus on implementation

rather than creation of

policy. Our main focus

points are the Marriage

Equality Referendum and

the General Election, in

order to fight both of these

we need strong, committed

and motivated leadership.”

• MynameisCiaraMcMahon,Iam24yearsold,fromMeathandtheeldest ofthreegirls.

• IstudiedPoliticsandHistoryinMaynoothfollowedbyaMastersinPoliticalCommunicationandPublicAffairsinDIT.MyMastersequippedmewithvaluableknowledgeonhowtodealwiththemedia,lobbyingandcampaigningtechniques.

• IcurrentlyworkinMinisterFrancesFitzgerald’sconstituencyoffice.FrommyworkIseetheissuesthatareaffectingyoungpeopleandIseetheimportanceofcampaigningandbeingactivebetweenelections.

• IhavebeenamemberofYFGsince2009whenIjoinedin1styearinMaynooth.Ihaveheldmanypositionsatdifferentlevelsoftheorganisation.IhavebeeninvolvedinanumberofcampaignsincludingtheGeneralElection,Referendums,LocalElectionsandBye-elections.

• IsitontheconstituencyboardandstrategycommitteeasPROforMeathEast.Aspartofthis,Iworkedwiththelocalelectioncandidatesinourareaassistingthemwiththedesignandcontentoftheirliteratureandsocialmedia.IamcurrentlypartofthestrategycommitteefortheGeneralElection.

• InmycurrentroleasDirectorofMembershipandRecruitmentIhavethoroughlyenjoyedworkingaspartoftheNationalExecutive.Ihavegainedaninsightastohowtoimproveourorganisation,andhowtheExecutiveshouldfunctioncapablyandpositivelyforthebestoftheorganisation.IorganisedtheGarretFitzgeraldsessionatSummerSchool,whichwasanimportantforumformemberstoexpresstheirviewsontheorganisation.

• AsChairpersonoftheWomen’sWorkingGroupweheldasuccessfulnetworkingandinformationalevent,‘TheInsideTrack’,whichwaspartofourworktoencouragefemaleparticipation.WehavebeenworkingwiththeSeniorpartyintheireffortstoencouragegreaterfemaleparticipationandinvolvementintheorganisation.Thisworkneedstocontinueoverthenextterm.

PolicyWehavecreatedmuchpolicyoverthepastnumberofyears,yetweneedtofocusoncarryingthispolicyfurther.Ourfocusshouldbeonimplementationofpolicy,whichcanbebetterachievedthroughdealingwithstakeholders,includingthoseworkingontheFineGaelmanifesto.

CampaignsI will establish an election strategy committee immediately in conjunction with theRegional Organisers, to plan and develop structured campaigns and encourage ourmemberstoplayavaluableroleinupcomingcampaigns.Campaignswillbecoordinatedandorganisedwithregulartextmessagesregardingcanvassing,andliftsorganisedtomeetingpoints.Canvassingworkshopsandsocialmedia trainingwillbearrangedtoincreaseconfidenceformembers.

RecruitmentIwillcontinuemyfocusondevelopingandencouragingour localbranches.Thiscanbedone through runningastrong recruitmentcampaign for localbranches -publicmeetingstoattractnewmembers,incentivessuchasawaiveroftheregistrationfeeandadvertisinginlocalmediaaresomeexamples.Recruitmentdriveswillbeexpandedtoincludetheagriculturalcolleges,andgraduatenetworkeventswillbeorganisedtoattractthepost-collegemember.

Vote No.1 Ciara for PRESIDENT Vote No.1 Ciara for PRESIDENT

Vote No.1 Ciara for PRESIDENT

I ask you to consider me for your Number 1 Vote at National Conference.

Vote for a President who will professionalise the organisation and

offer vision and leadership through the challenging but exciting times ahead.