The heave that never was: How Soc Dems leaders faced down mutiny challenge

Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy were surprised last week to hear of a letter from 16 signatories calling for a party leadership contest, but have made it clear they are not going anywhere

Sarah Durcan, who was the Social Democrat candidate for the Dublin Bay South by- election, with party leaders Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy were preparing for a bit of downtime at the start of the Dáil recess a week ago when they first heard of a letter being circulated among members of the Social Democrats calling for a leadership contest.

Ordinarily, such a letter would signify that a heave is on, and is being quietly backed by a hungry contender waiting in the wings. But this was missing all the dramatic ingredients of ...