Get all the very latest news in Ireland straight to your email every single day Sign up! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A former witch is hoping to become the first pagan to win a Dail seat in the next election.

Deirdre Wadding, 53, is currently a Wexford councillor and plans to run in next year’s General Election.

The People Before Profit representative believes her political ambitions are the perfect compliment to her Wiccan ways.

Mrs Wadding said: “To me, it’s a no brainer that paganism goes hand-in-hand with activism and politics.

“As pagans, if we believe what we profess to believe, that the Earth is sacred and is our mother source of energy, then we have to participate in activism or politics.”

The mum of three was drawn to paganism after being forced into a convent when she became pregnant at 18.

She added: “I was extremely spiritual as a child but I got pregnant at 18 and my parents sent me to a convent, where I had to give my child up for adoption.

Read more:

“By the age of 21, after a few more challenging experiences, I realised there was no place for me in the Catholic Church.

“I was carrying a lot of guilt and shame along with loss and grief. That was around the time I came across Wicca.”

After briefly joining a witches coven, Deirdre left Wicca and trained as a shamanic healer and tarot reader. She added: “Wicca was not to be my route to paganism but I learnt a lot from it. It gave me great discipline and it opened my mind to lots of things.

“Over the years I finally settled into a shamanic practice incorporating our old Irish gods. One of my greatest devotions is to the Morrigan,

“I bring her into a lot of the work I do. When I was elected in the last local election in Wexford, I wore crow feathers in my hair in her honour. That was seen as a great coup for the pagan community.”

A former teacher, Deirdre was an active member of her students union and worked with Travellers in inner city Dublin.

She said: “I was always involved in left- wing politics and I was chair of a group of teachers working with travelling people.

“I’m a very ‘active’ person I suppose and I organise festivals related to the temple of Isis and I train new priestesses.”

Deirdre said part of her political inspiration comes from Ireland’s ancient warriors, the Fianna.

She added: “I had a huge interest in Irish mythology and the Tuatha de Danann and I loved listening to Horslips albums about ancient heroes and the Morrigan.

“A lot of what I try to do is tied into our ancient warriorship – the Fianna.

“It’s not just about going on the offensive and attacking, it’s about defending and protecting the land and the people.”