Election 2024Constituency Profile

Roscommon-Galway constituency profile: Battle for the final two seats between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin

Death of Fine Gael candidate John Naughten casts shadow over contest

Constituency map
Election 2024: Roscommon has had almost as many constituency partners over the years as Henry VIII
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Harry McGee
Thu Nov 07 2024 - 12:18

Outgoing TDs: Michael Fitzmaurice (Ind): Denis Naughten (Ind - retiring); Claire Kerrane (SF)

Who are the candidates running in the Roscommon-Galway constituency? Michael Fitzmaurice (Ind), Claire Kerrane (SF), Martin Daly (FF), Aisling Dolan (FG), Dympna Daly-Finn (Fine Gael), Cormac Ó Corcoráin (Aon), Andrew Mannion (PBP), Martina O’Connor (GP), Eugene Murphy (Ind).

The death of Fine Gael candidate John Naughten in early October has cast a shadow over this contest. He was a brother of Independent TD Denis Naughten, formerly of Fine Gael, who is standing down as a TD.

John Naughten was expected to take the seat being vacated by his brother, and re-establish a Fine Gael presence here.

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Michael Fitzmaurice has been a TD here since 2014 despite coming from Glinsk in Co Galway. He toyed with the idea of shifting to Galway East but is staying put and his seat is considered safe. He will pull votes from all over Roscommon and his native Galway.

Claire Kerrane made a breakthrough for Sinn Féin in 2020, taking a Fianna Fáil seat. Based in Ballaghaderreen in the north of the constituency, she will need a big campaign to retain her seat. The Ballinasloe Senator Aisling Dolan has been added to the Fine Gael ticket alongside Dympna Daly Finn, based in north Roscommon. It is hard to say which of the two will come out on top.

Fianna Fáil has adopted a one-candidate strategy. Former TD Eugene Murphy, a popular figure, lost out in the convention to another high-profile candidate, Martin Daly, a GP based in Ballygar. Murphy had been hoping to be added to the ticket but that did not happen. Now he has decided to contest the election as an Independent, a decision that will have an impact on Fianna Fáil’s chances of regaining a seat. Will it put Murphy into contention? Perhaps.

With Fitzmaurice a cert, the battle for the final two seats will be between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, with perhaps Murphy as a contender.

Roscommon has had almost as many partners over the years as Henry VIII. It’s an idiosyncratic constituency because the overall population of Roscommon is not big enough to sustain three seats. It’s been yoked with Leitrim and Longford in the past and since 2020 with a big tranche of east Galway, more recently reduced to Ballinasloe, east Galway and northeast Galway.

The south of the county is more prosperous, with Roscommon town a base for commuters to Athlone, and also working-from-home people who have good road connections to Dublin for meetings. Housing and transport are big issues for some parts of the county. The political heat over Roscommon hospital seems to have abated for some years.

Possible outcome: Fine Gael (1), 1 Independent (1), Fianna Fáil (1)