A weekend of comebacks, upsets and records being broken has seen Clare fill its seats in the 34th Dáil.
It took until Sunday night for the county to whittle the longest General Election ballot paper its ever had down to the final four successful candidates.
With a record 20 candidates vying for one of the four available seats in Clare, it was clear from the get-go that the county was in for the long haul.
After the counting staff in Treacy’s West County Hotel completed the tallies on Saturday afternoon, the counts got underway and the eliminations began.
The most high-profile casualty in the early stages was Kilrush incumbent Violet-Anne Wynne who despite having garnered 8,987 first preference votes when elected for Sinn Fein in 2020, found herself picking up just 310 as an Independent this time around.
As the candidates grew fewer and fewer into Sunday afternoon, Tulla’s Timmy Dooley of Fianna Fáil became the first to fill a seat in Clare, securing his return to the Dáil after narrowly missing out last time around.
Asked about the prospect of being picked as a minister once the Government is formed, he says while it would be welcome, it’s still early days.
Fortune continued to smile on Fianna Fáil as the day progressed and before long, Meelick’s Cathal Crowe had confirmation that he’d be retaining his seat for the next five years.
He says plenty has changed since he first got over the line four years ago, and paid tribute to his late mother-in-law who passed away during the election campaign just one month ago.
Clarecastle Fine Gael candidate Leonora Carey’s elimination in the 16th count brought an end to the Carey family’s 40-year run representing the county in Leinster House.
In addition, it gave confirmation that Shannon Sinn Fein Councillor Donna McGettigan and Bodyke Fine Gael Councillor Joe Cooney would fill the remaining two seats.
McGettigan is Shannon’s first ever TD and she says she doesn’t take this honour lightly.
Cooney was a late addition to Fine Gael’s General Election ticket and will now represent his native East Clare in the Dáil, having been on Clare County Council since 2004.
He says he’s no stranger to taking on a difficult job and seeing it through.
