Pat Cullen is the Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, having first been elected at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Cullen won 24,844 votes (48.6%). The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidate, Diana Armstrong, received 20,273 votes (39.7%), while the Alliance candidate, Eddie Roofe, won 2,420 votes (4.7%). Cullen was duly elected with a majority of 4,571.

The Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency covers the entirety of County Fermanagh and the southern part of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It is known for its historically close balance between nationalist and unionist voters.

The seat was represented by the UUP from 1983 to 1997 and again from 2015 to 2017. Sinn Féin previously held the seat from 2001 to 2010 and again since 2017. The constituency was famously won by hunger striker Bobby Sands in a momentous 1981 by-election.

Cullen’s predecessor as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone was Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin. Gildernew, who stood down at the 2024 election, represented the seat from 2019 to 2024.

Political Career

In line with Sinn Féin’s longstanding policy of abstentionism, Cullen does not take her seat in the House of Commons. Sinn Féin MPs focus on constituency work and activity within Ireland.

In the foreword to Sinn Féin’s manifesto for the 2024 general election, the party’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, said Sinn Féin MPs would work “hard as part of a strong all-Ireland Sinn Féin team to deliver for all our people and communities.”

The manifesto added: “We want a stronger and fairer economy that delivers good jobs that pay well, offers workers secure conditions, and supports local business.”

Before standing for election to the parliament at Westminster, Cullen served as the general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) from April 2021 to May 2024. During her tenure, Cullen led the RCN through historic strike action across the UK.

Cullen previously served as director of RCN Northern Ireland from 2019.

Political views

Cullen represents Sinn Féin, an Irish republican and democratic socialist party. The party’s core policies include advocating for a united Ireland and promoting left-wing economic and social policies.

Sinn Féin’s abstentionist policy is derived from its belief that the parliament at Westminster is illegitimate, and that its authority over Ireland rests on British sovereignty which the party does not recognise. Consequently, Sinn Féin MPs refuse to take their seats in the House of Commons, as doing so would require swearing an oath of allegiance to the British monarch, which the party regards as incompatible with its republican principles.

Before Politics

Cullen qualified as a registered nurse in 1985.

She later served as director of nursing at the Public Health Agency and advisor to the Department of Health.

Personal Life

Cullen was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the youngest of seven children.

She is married with two children and is also a grandmother.

Trivia

Cullen led the RCN into the first nationwide strike in the union’s history.