Aisling Reilly announces she will not stand in 2027 Stormont election
Ms Reilly is currently a junior minister in the Executive Office.
Sinn Féin junior minister Aisling Reilly has announced she will not stand in next year’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections.
The West Belfast MLA said she would require time to “recover and recuperate” following a forthcoming operation.
Ms Reilly serves as her party’s junior minister in the Executive Office.
She is also a former GAA handball world champion.
Ms Reilly has been an MLA since 2021 and the following year delivered the first speech to be entirely delivered in Irish in the Stormont Assembly.
In a statement, she said it had been the “absolute honour of my life” to serve the constituency.
She added: “In the period ahead, I will be going into hospital to undergo a hip operation.
“Many years of playing sport at a demanding level representing my club, county and country has taken its toll.
“After the operation I will need a significant amount of time to recover and recuperate.
“I want to ensure that Sinn Féin has the best chance of winning the maximum number of seats in the Assembly election, which is why I have decided to announce now that I will not be putting my name forward for selection to stand in West Belfast in the Assembly election.”