Fine Gael’s Neale Richmond topped the poll in Dublin Rathdown and was elected on the first count, but the final seats proved a tight contest. Richmond’s running mate Maeve O’Connell also took a seat, with Shay Brennan giving Fianna Fáil its first TD in the constituency since 2016. Minister for Culture and former Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin was the main casualty, with the Social Democrats’ Sinéad Gibney profiting.
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- Dublin Rathdown results
Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell, meanwhile, said she looks forward to “representing everybody” following her election. “I’m delighted, I think we did really well here in Dublin Rathdown with my colleague Neale Richmond topping the poll and I’ve just been elected as a first time candidate,” she said. “We’re looking forward to getting into government negotiation talks with our current partners and seeing where it goes from there,” she said.
Her husband Colm Brophy, who was re-elected as a Fine Gael TD for Dublin South West, described a married couple working together in the Dáil as “a very strange scenario”. “I think it will give us a very unique perspective representing two constituencies,” he said.
Sinéad Gibney received 2,487 transfers from Catherine Martin’s 5,881 votes, bringing her to the top of the poll. Ms O’Connell received a significant 1,543 transfers bringing her to the exact quota of 9,752. Mr Brennan meanwhile, failed to reach the quota but received 903 transfers bringing him 997 votes ahead of Independent councillor Michael Fleming.
“It’s amazing, I can’t quite believe it,” Ms Gibney said, moments after becoming the second candidate to be elected in Dublin Rathdown. “We’ve been clear with the electorate, as a party, about exactly what we can offer and the people of Dublin Rathdown have said ‘Yes, thanks’. “We want to govern, we want to change how Irish society is,” she said.
Ms Gibney failed to secure an MEP seat in June, having resigned as chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, and sold her car at the time to fund her campaign. She narrowly missed out on the quota needed to reclaim expenses. “You cannot believe the year I’ve had,” she said adding that her father died before the European elections. “This whole year has been on the back of saying goodbye to one of the biggest people in my life, he was so proud of me and he would be so proud of me today and I’m going to do him so proud in the Dáil so this is for him,” she said.
Gibney, O’Connell and Brennan elected
Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney has finished on top in Dublin Rathdown with 10,612 votes, with Maeve O’Connell and Shay Brennan (FF) also being elected following the final count.
Overall, Fine Gael has retained its two seats while Fianna Fáil and the Social Democrats have taken one each in Dublin Rathdown. Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell received 9,752 votes, followed by Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan who finished 8,999. Independent councillor Michael Fleming, who polled well throughout the weekend, was the final candidate to be eliminated, finishing on 8,002 votes.
Ms Gibney is the first Social Democrats candidate to run in Dublin Rathdown while Mr Brennan’s election gives Fianna Fáil its first seat in the constituency since its establishment in 2016.
Although leading the poll in the constituency since Neale Richmond’s election on Saturday, Fine Gael councillor and first time general election candidate Maeve O’Connell said: “You’re never confident.”
”I’m delighted with the result, I think we’ve done really, really well,” she said.
Speaking prior to the final count results for Dublin Rathdown, the wife of Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy who was elected today in the Dublin South West constituency said: ”We were trying to work it out earlier on the phone, whether we would be carpooling or how it would work out, but we haven’t thought that far ahead,” she said.
Reacting to the Green Party’s Catherine Martin losing her seat following the ninth count, she said she was “very disappointed on a personal level”.”I think they did a huge amount of good work, I think they very much raised awareness of the green agenda,” she added.
Error in transfers led to recheck
Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan said he was “very surprised” by an error which saw some 300 of his transfer votes being placed in Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney’s pile in error. The mishap resulted in a recheck, delaying the overall process by several hours until the results were amended.
”I’ve been in count centres all my life and I’ve never seen anything like that happen,” he said.
He commended his “vigilant” team for spotting the discrepancy in transfer numbers, which resulted in the recheck.
”It was a significant number of votes, to the point that it potentially could have changed the outcome.
”It shouldn’t have happened, we need to figure out how it happened, why it happened and what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said, adding that he is “lucky” to have a team which can conduct tallies, while other candidates may not have the “manpower”.
Overall, he said the outlook for his party indicates seats in the “high 40s”, while gains in Dublin in particular contribute to the “resurgence of Fianna Fáil in Dublin and it’s a testament to our focus on it and our rebuilding in the capital.”
The son of former Fianna Fáil TD and minister Séamus Brennan who is almost certain to gain the first seat for his party in Dublin Rathdown since the constituency was established in 2016 said: “I grew up around politics, I’ve been dropping leaflets since I was four or five, so I’m no stranger to count centres or election campaigns.
”I learnt a lot from my dad over the years, he’s sorely missed, I know he’s watching over me today and I hope I’ve done him proud.”
Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney took a significant chunk of Sinn Féin candidate Shaun Tracey’s transfers, bringing her to second place ahead of Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan. She is behind Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell by 93 votes. Ms O’Connell has been leading since Neale Richmond’s election on Saturday. Independent councillor Michael Fleming received the second-highest portion of the transfers (1,195) from Sinn Féin and stands at 7,486 votes, though now finds himself last in line.
Catherine Martin has lost her seat
Green Party minister Catherine Martin has lost her seat in Dublin Rathdown after being eliminated following the ninth count.
Ms Martin became the latest Green Party member to lose their seat on Sunday evening when she finished with 5,881 votes against a quota of 9,752.
Ms Martin was the first to be elected in the 2020 general election after receiving the highest number of first preference votes.
Originally from Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, she had been a TD since February 2016, and served as deputy leader of the party from 2011 until former party leader Eamon Ryan announced his resignation this year. Prior to her election to the Dáil, she was a member of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council from 2014 until 2016.
She was appointed Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in June 2020, during which she became a prominent figure during various RTÉ controversies. While minister, she launched a pilot scheme which pays some artists a basic income, previously described by some beneficiaries as “life changing”, as it allows them to focus on their craft.
Ms Martin, who is a classical singer, taught English and music for 16 years prior to her election to the Dáil.
Although not present for the result on Sunday, speaking to reporters at the count centre in Ballinteer Community School on Saturday evening, Ms Martin described it as a “very disappointing day for the Green Party”.
“My heart goes out to everyone, all of the candidates we ran. But this happened before, and we will come back and we will come back stronger than ever before, that I can be sure of,” she said.
Catherine Martin has been notably absent since her brief appearance last night, when she described a “very disappointing day for the Green Party”.
Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan arrived to the count centre at Ballinteer Community School for the first time on Sunday evening ahead of the eighth count as his chance to gain a seat for his party seems all the more likely.
Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney, the first party candidate to run in the constituency, meanwhile, has been present for almost the entire count.
Independent councillor Michael Fleming arrived for the first time earlier today and has been keeping a close eye on counters, particularly since the error which resulted in a recheck and amended results.
It is understood three piles of Aontú candidate Liam Coughlan’s transfers, intended for Mr Brennan, were incorrectly placed in Ms Gibney’s allocated spot.
Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell, meanwhile, who has been leading since Neale Richmond’s election, appeared briefly on both Saturday and Sunday.
Sinn Féin candidate Shaun Tracey has been eliminated following the eighth count. It comes as Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney received the largest portion of Labour councillor Lettie McCarthy’s transfers. Ms Gibney received 1,030 transfers bringing her latest total to 6,244 though she remains behind Independent councillor Michael Fleming, albeit by 47 votes. Catherine Martin received a considerable 920 transfers, however, she is now at the bottom of the poll in fifth place. It’s looking pretty bleak for her now.
Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell remains in the lead with 8,123 votes, followed by Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan (7,908). Mr Tracey’s 4,382 votes will now be distributed.
Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan’s team called for a recheck after counting a significantly higher number of transfers compared to the 102 he had originally received from Aontú candidate Liam Coughlan.
Ms Gibney’s team, meanwhile, labelled the 430 transfers initially received from the Aontú candidate as “bizarre” due to the differences between the two parties.
Mr Brennan received 402 transfers, following the recheck.
There were discrepancies among other candidates regarding the latest transfers though they were minor in comparison and amended.
Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell remains in the lead with 7,615 votes followed by Mr Brennan (7,601).
Independent councillor Michael Fleming received the highest number of transfers from Mr Coughlan at 826, bringing his total votes so far to 5,861.
Following the latest count, he overtook Ms Gibney who now stands at 5,214, followed by Green Party minister Catherine Martin (4,560) and Sinn Féin’s Shaun Tracey (4,223).
Labour councillor Lettie McCarthy has been eliminated following the seventh count, finishing with 3,478 votes.
Following the recheck, the results have been amended and count eight has begun with six candidates still in the race for the three remaining seats.
Labour’s Lettie McCarthy was the last candidate eliminated. She was eliminated following the seventh count.
Some 833 transfers from Aontú candidate Liam Coughlan brought Independent councillor Michael Fleming ahead of Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney by 358 votes.
Fine Gael councillor Maeve O’Connell remains in the lead followed by Fianna Fáil councillor Shay Brennan with 309 votes between them.
Catherine Martin is currently placed second last with 4,560 votes against a quota of 9,752, followed by Sinn Féin’s Shaun Tracey (4,223).
Ms McCarthy’s 3,480 votes will now be distributed, with six candidates left in the race for the three remaining seats.
Some 296 transfers were distributed to Social Democrats candidate Sinéad Gibney in error during the seventh count for Dublin Rathdown.
