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Revision as of 11:58, 25 February 2022

Irish Sinn Féin politician

Violet-Anne WynneTD
Wynne in 2020

Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2020
Constituency	Clare

Personal details
Born	(1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 (age 37) Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland
Political party	Independent
Children	6
Alma mater	Trinity College Dublin

Violet-Anne Wynne (born 1988) is an Irish independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Clare constituency since the 2020 general election. She was formerly a member of Sinn Féin, for whom she stood for in that election and represented until February 2022.

Early life and education

Wynne is from Tullamore, County Offaly. She attended St Colman's National School nearby and the Coláiste Muire in Blakestown. She studied Psychology at Trinity College Dublin. She is a Protestant and member of the Church of Ireland. She is a former member of the Reserve Defence Forces, having been involved for three years. She has worked as a home help provider for young adults with disabilities, a literacy tutor, and for the crime victims helpline.

Political career

Wynne ran for the position of councillor in Clare County Council during the May 2019 local elections. She placed 8th out 9 candidates in her local election area of Kilrush, securing 4% of the first preference vote. In 2020, she was chosen by Sinn Féin local branches in Clare to stand for Sinn Féin in the 2020 general election. She had been the local party members' third choice for a candidate, gaining the nomination after their first choice, Councillor Mike McKee, fell ill and died, and their second choice, Noeleen Moran, withdrew from the nomination process after she felt the local branch had not been prompt enough in convening. Wynne had been considered to be a paper candidate in an election Sinn Féin initially did not expect to gain seats in, however, she came second in her constituency with 15% of the first preference vote following a surge in Sinn Féin popularity during the election campaign.

Rent arrears

Following her election victory, an Irish charity came forward claiming that Wynne had refused to pay any rent for a period of four years and they instead had covered the cost, believing they would be eventually repaid.

Wynne and her partner John Mountaine had agreed to pay a weekly rent of €63 for the property when they relocated to County Clare with the help of charity Rural Resettlement Ireland (RRI), but amassed arrears of in excess of €12,000 before they were forced to leave by a court.

The chairman of the charity Jim Connolly wrote to Wynne in June 2013 stating "your rent record is simply appalling" and went on to outline that the charity had had to let three staff go and was struggling financially.

During the court case to evict Wynne, it was outlined that a letter from John Connolly of RRI stated "you have made complete fools out of this charity which worked for years to provide you and others with beautiful houses." and another letter from November 2012 read "your sporadic method of paying rent is resulting in your arrears constantly rising. They are now at a completely unacceptable level and I do not understand why you are treating your responsibility to this organisation in this way."

RRI finally took legal action in 2016 and obtain a judgement for arrears of €12,126.40.

Rural Resettlement Ireland closed down but its operators suggested she should give the owed amount, €12,000 to another charity. She subsequently agreed to do so.

Vaccines

Also following her election, Philip Ryan suggesting that Wynne previously proposed some vaccine hesitancy views regarding the HPV vaccine relating to cervical cancer. The Sinn Féin press office said Wynne's comments were "old remarks" which did not "reflect Sinn Féin policy".

Social media conduct

In April 2020, Wynne was criticised for her conduct on social media by some of her constituents after she referred to Clare TD Pat Breen and former Clare TD (now Senator) Timmy Dooley as "Prat Breen" and "Timmy Do Nothing". She was also accused of belittling constituents who asked questions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. A spokesperson representing Sinn Féin in County Clare referred to her behaviour as "A prime example why the party's social media guidelines should be followed at all times on social media platforms." Following the criticisms, Wynne issued a formal apology, stating "I understand that a number of remarks I made on Facebook recently have caused offence. I want to apologise for this and to those involved".

Resignation from Sinn Féin

In February 2022, Wynne resigned from Sinn Féin. Wynne alleged that she was the victim of a campaign of “psychological warfare” from members of the local party but that she did not have a problem with Sinn Fein TDs in the Dail.

As part of a press release, Wynne stated "I was a proud Sinn Féin TD and took my membership with the party very seriously, I believed that they were the party for United Irelanders and were the future for this island. I now have experience that I can no longer ignore" and went on to suggest that the party did "not take kindly to autonomy and those who do not follow their plans”. Wynne resolved to continue her work as TD as an Independent.

Sinn Fein Deputy Whip Denise Mitchell responded stating “I am so very sorry to hear of Violet-Anne’s decision this morning. Violet-Anne was a valued member of the Sinn Féin Oireachtas team. The party worked extremely hard over the last two years to resolve challenges at constituency level. That work was continuing."

Personal life

Wynne met her husband while she was living in Blanchardstown, Dublin. In 2011, the couple decided to settle in Kilrush, County Clare with their six children under the Rural Settlement Scheme when he developed health issues that required a slower paced lifestyle.