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Key Morris witness to stand for Greens 13.08.08

A KEY witness in the Morris Tribunal, Ms Sheenagh McMahon, is to run as a Green Party candidate in the local elections next year in her hometown of Buncrana, Co Donegal.
Ms. McMahon whose revelations about her estranged husband, former Detective Garda Noel McMahon, led to the establishment of the tribunal, is to seek election to both Buncrana Town Council and the Inishowen electoral area of Donegal County Council.
The 47-year old who legally separated from her husband in 2001, yesterday said she was looking forward to the challenge.
"One of the main reasons I decided to get involved in politics was because during my ordeal at the tribunal, I found little support when I went looking for help on a political level," she said.
"So if I get elected, I want to help empower people in Buncrana and Inishowen to tackle their own personal challenges. People don't realise how much resilience and strength they have inside them."
She chose the Green Party because she feels the Inishowen peninsula "needs a change".
"There has never been a Green Party councillor in this area and I feel it's time for a change. I like the party's principles and what they stand for and I have always been interested in the environment. The Greens want more renewable energy and recycling, more decision-making at a community level and more open government," she added.
Ms. McMahon is employed as a support worker with women and child victims of domestic abuse in Inishowen. She feels that becoming a councillor would help her her "give something back".
"People in Buncrana and Inishowen were a tremendous support to me during the tribunal ordeal and I feel like I want to give them something back to them."
In 1999, Ms McMahon, a mother of three sons, revealed that her husband made and planted homemade explosives, later claiming them as significant IRA finds, to further his career . She spent five days in the Morris Tribunal witness box and described this episode in her life as "the most horrific experience".
Green Party secretary in Donegal, Frank Gallagher, confirmed Ms. McMahon will be among five candidates who will seek election for the party in the county's two constituencies next year. Her candidacy will be ratified by party headquarters in the coming weeks.
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