Senator James Heffernan Transport, Tourism and Sport
Welcome to my website, I hope you will find it useful.
I am the Labour Party Spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport and I am proud to represent the people of Limerick in Seanad Éireann.
We are currently experiencing an extremely difficult economic situation in Ireland, however, Ireland is a country with great potential and I am working hard with my Labour colleagues to ensure that we face these challenges head on and avail of the opportunities that will arise in the future.
James studied History, Politics and Social Studies in UL and also completed the Post Graduate Certificate in Primary Education. He worked as a primary school teacher in the inner city borough of Tower Hamlets in East London.
Influences on James’ work
Growing up in rural county Limerick, James witnessed the rapid decline in rural Ireland. Having travelled and met Irish people around the globe who had concerns about the future of Ireland, James decided to return to Ireland from Australia and contest the 2007 General Election as a Labour candidate where he polled over 5% of first preference votes. Determined to represent the people of his locality, James contested the 2009 local election where he topped the poll in the Kilmallock electoral area and was elected on the first count having reached the quota with 2,282 votes.
He was both the first candidate to be selected by the Labour Party to contest the 2009 Local Elections and the youngest Labour candidate to run in the General Election of 2007, when he secured 2,227 first preference votes.
The Heffernan family has been long established in the town of Kilfinane and has a strong tradition of community involvement, including the organisation of various festivals and charity fundraising events and participation in sport.
Politics has been of interest to James from a young age. In school he was involved in a number of organising committees and student organisations and he then went on to study politics in the University of Limerick
As a member of Limerick County Council James worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of the Kilmallock electoral area.
County Council Committee Membership
- Social Cultural and Community Development Committee
- Environmental Committee
- County Limerick VEC
In 2011 James secured 7,910 first preference votes in the General Election and narrowly lost out on winning a seat in the Dáil. He was elected to the Seanad from the Agricultural Panel in May 2011.
