Sinn Féin Councillor elected onto Wicklow County Council and Bray Municipal District Council. My aim is to share my journey in politics by informing and engaging with the wider public.
Biography Known as Dermot “Daisy” O’Brien I have spent over twenty years working and volunteering in Bray and Co. Wicklow. Well known for my contributions in the areas of Youth Work, Community Development, Education and Mental Health, I was awarded Bray ‘Person of the Year’ in 2016.
I have a special relationship with Little Bray and Ballywaltrim having lived and worked in both areas where you might have met ‘Daisy’ in homework clubs, summer projects, youth groups, football clubs, parents programmes, school based work and numerous committees and working groups over the years.
As founder coordinator of Celtic Youth Bray (CYB) in 1996 and subsequent manager of Hi Rez Youth Centre, Daisy continued a long tradition of youth work in the centre of Bray dating back to the days of Adventuring Youth and Bray Summer Project. Twenty years of volunteering in CYB ran alongside a career which currently sees me working in the youth and education sectors at local, national and international levels. Youth engagement, mental health, social inclusion, sustainable development and human rights are important areas of work for me at the moment. Life in Co. Wicklow is changing at a rate and in ways never before seen. For some the change is positive and yet for others there is a sense that they are being left behind. I believe that our communities must have a greater involvement in local decision making. The conversations about housing, employment, education, health, childcare, youth activities, inclusion, the arts and well being should include and be informed by those for whom these issues are a reality and not just those in the council chamber or the council offices. If we combine our energy, our ideas, our commitment to our communities then we can be proactive about the issues that we face rather than just reactive. We can become co-architects of a community that leaves no-one behind and strives to support positive development across all areas of activity.
I am committed to the “I-CARE” approach to my politics.
I – Integrity: A genuine connection between what I say, what I do and what is right and wrong.
C – Compassion: Giving attention to those who are struggling and the most vulnerable.
A – Accountability: Taking responsibility for what is done in my name.
R – Rights based: Using human rights as a framework to inform my approach.
E – Empathy: Understanding what it feels like to be in someone else’s situation.
Political engagement began as a seventeen year old when I got involved in the activities for the ‘Reclaim the spirit of 1916’ programme for the 75th Anniversary of the Rising. This had a big impact on my connection to the republican movement. Inspired by my grandfather Eamon Martin who was a local councillor in the 70’s and my grand-uncle, well known local author Colbert Martin, I linked in with commemoration events and continued my political involvement at various levels ever since.