Hello, I am Sheila Garrity. I am an Irish academic, researcher, political activist and now, for the first time, I am a political candidate! I have been a campaigner for Catherine Connolly for local and Dáil elections since the early 2000s. Most recently, I was the Galway City Campaign Convener during the 2025 Irish Presidential contest. I have decided to contest the by-election in Galway West as an independent candidate, to fill the Dáil seat vacated by Catherine Connolly’s election as Uachtarán na hÉireann in October 2025.

As well as campaigning for Catherine Connolly, I was also very active in the 2015 Marriage Equality Referendum and the 2018 Referendum to Repeal the 8^th Amendment of the Constitution.

In my professional life, I am an Early Childhood Educator. Over the years I have had roles such as working in early childhood services, setting up my own School Age programme, and working in support and development roles. For the past 15 years, I have been an academic and researcher and have become a leader in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care in Ireland. I have consistently advocated the importance of high-quality ECEC, which must include enriching, inclusive experiences for young children as well as professional salaries and conditions for Early Childhood Educators. I have actively supported SIPTU — Early Years Union in advocating for a professional workforce that includes a strong trade union voice as a partner in developing the Irish ECEC system.

I am an advocate for greater public involvement in early childhood provision, the reduction of parent fees, and support for local independent and community-based service providers. I strongly believe that ECEC is a common good that benefits children, families, and all of society. As such, early years should be funded and organised to give back to society, not to drive profiteering and benefit foreign investment funds.

Early Years

I have lived in Galway for over 25 years, but I was born in Toronto, Canada, to Irish emigrant parents. My mother, Jane (Pat) Patricia Foley, was from Dublin, and my father, John (Séan) James Costello, hailed from Galway. Séan met Pat when working in Dublin as an apprentice bricklayer; they married in 1955 and emigrated to Canada in 1958. My eldest brother, Robert, was born in Dublin, while myself and three other siblings were born in Toronto (Séan, Maureen and Eileen). As part of a highly diverse immigrant community, my family lived in the west side of Toronto, in Parkdale and later the Junction/High Park neighbourhood.

Irish Canadian Community

My family was deeply embedded into the Irish Canadian community in Toronto. We grew up, like many of the children of Irish ex-pats, learning Irish dancing and playing Irish sports. My parents were longtime members of the Irish Immigrant Aid and Benevolent Society (later renamed the Irish Canadian Aid & Cultural Society/ICACS). I have fond memories of packing Christmas hampers for new immigrants, alongside other volunteers, in the Society’s meeting house on Toronto’s Lansdowne Avenue in the 1970s. My parents were instrumental in supporting the purchase of 1650 Dupont Street, a building that would become The Irish Centre, the cultural hub of the Irish community in Toronto for over two decades. My father was president of the Society for two terms, while my mother ran the Sunday dinners programme through the 1980s. I also did my time volunteering in the ‘Centre’, as well as serving on the Executive from 1984 to1986.

Toronto GAA

Along with many of the Irish in Toronto, my family were strongly involved in the Toronto GAA. As a new immigrant, my dad Séan joined Clann na nGael football club on the invitation of Brian McEniff, beginning a lifelong friendship between our families. Séan and Brian had previously met through the Emerald Football Club, a soccer club made up primarily of Irish immigrants living in Toronto. Over the years, my dad, brothers, uncle and cousins all played for “The Clann”. I was secretary of the Club from 1982 until 1987. I was also a member of the fledgling Toronto Camogie Club, team captain for a number of years, and “Camogie Player of the Year” in 1983 and 1984. As the only team in Toronto, we competed in a northeast North American league through those years.

As part of my role as secretary, I represented “The Clann” on the Toronto GAA Executive for a number of years, acting as membership coordinator. In 1984, when the international Gaelic Athletic Association celebrated its 100th anniversary, I was honoured to receive one of the five Centenary Medals awarded to Toronto members. At the awards ceremony, my contribution to the Toronto GAA — in particular, my work as membership coordinator and the trebling of official (paying) members — was acknowledged.

Personal Life

I am married to Jim (James) Garrity. Like many a romance, ours started in the GAA, in this case, in Toronto. During his teenage years, Jim and his family lived in Williamstown, County Galway, where his father served as the local family doctor with the Western Health Board. Jim played Gaelic football as a student at St Jarlath’s College, Tuam, Co Galway, on the college team, winning the Connaught final in 1975. He also played for the County Galway minor football team at that time.

Jim and I married in Toronto and are the parents of five children (Kathleen, Sarah, Clare, Séamus and Maeve), all born in Canada. When we returned to Galway in 2001, we settled with our children in Knocknacarra, Galway City. Our children attended Scoil Rois/Dominican College and St Pat’s/The Bish. All five are graduates of the University of Galway (then NUI Galway). Our family now includes three grandchildren.

Returning to Ireland has also allowed our family to develop stronger relationships with extended family in East Galway and Dublin. This past summer I led a small committee of relatives who organised an international family reunion. Over 100 Costello relatives from the UK, Ontario, Texas, New York, Oregon and across the island of Ireland descended on Leitrim Parish, outside Loughrea, for four days of reconnecting.

Professional Career

I have primarily worked in the field of Early Childhood Education and Care, both in Canada and in Ireland. In Canada, I gained experience working in inner-city school-age service, full daycare and in a rural “hub model” service, providing child care alongside family support, family resource services, and community outreach.

Arriving in Galway, Ireland, in 2001, I founded one of the first school-age childcare services in the state, Kidzone After School Service, at Scoil Rois, in Autumn 2001. The establishment of the service was made possible by the then Principal of Scoil Rois, Sr Michael, who saw the challenges faced by working parents and was open-minded to this idea, which was very new for Ireland. This service ran for a decade, until June 2011. From 2002 to 2009, I was employed by the Western Health Board (later merged into the HSE) as a Childcare Advisory Officer. Based in the Galway Childcare Committee, I worked with colleagues to support the development of high-quality early-years services in Galway City and County.

In 2007, I took an opportunity through work to undertake a part-time master’s degree with NUI Galway at the UNESCO Child & Family Research Centre, juggling work, family and running Kidzone, after years away from study. Following this, I was recruited by NUIG to develop a new undergraduate degree: BA Early Childhood Studies & Practice. The degree was delivered through the Centre for Adult Learning and Professional Development in partnership with the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre. Its design met the needs of Early Childhood Educators who wished to increase their skills and earn a degree while being employed. In 2016, a follow-on MA in Early Childhood Studies commenced, offering a further professional progression route for Early Childhood Educators.

During this time, I was also undertaking my own doctoral research. My study centred on relationships between parents and Early Childhood Educators, exploring the development of trust, the natural provision of family support, and the rich communities that develop among families, children and educators in such settings. I began my studies in 2009 and successfully defended my thesis in 2013.

The leadership position I hold in my profession is significant. I was Chair of Plé, the Association of Academics in ECEC in Ireland, from 2020 to 2025. In this role, I participated on a number of State level working and advisory groups. In 2021, I was appointed to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, where I promote a child-centred and rights-based approach to curriculum development. My expertise is also recognised internationally: I have served as an advisor to the Minister for Education in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (2023-2025) and contributed to Norwegian State research examining quality assessments in ECEC (2021-2024).

Following 15 years working at the University of Galway (2010-2025), I recently joined Dublin City University as an Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education, in the School of Language, Literacies and Early Childhood Education, in the Institute of Education. I commenced this new role in January 2026.

Volunteer Contributions

• As a parent in Galway, I volunteered for a number of years with the Salthill Knocknacarra GAA club, specifically in the Camogie programme, and with Barna Basketball Club and later Titans Basketball Club.
• I was a member and later Chairperson of the Portacarron Residents’ Association, for a five-year period in the early 2000s, collaborating with other committee members on family fun days, estate up-keep, and social events.
• I have served on the board of Amach! LGBT+ Galway, a community-based mental health charity, for a number of years as a community ally.
• Through the summer of 2024, Jim and I volunteered as coaches for the pilot Galway Gulls softball team.
• I have also been a member of Humanist West since 2014; I was HW Convenor from 2023-2025 and founder of the Tom White Memorial Lecture. Since 2018, I have had the joy of being a Humanist Celebrant. This role allows me to support families and couples who wish to mark important events in their lives through non-religious ceremonies. I am a legal solemniser of marriages in the State; I also officiate at baby naming and welcome ceremonies, at funerals and at coming-of-age ceremonies.