Counting has concluded for the night in the Kildare South constituency – with a three-way battle taking place for the last seat. Outgoing Fianna Fail TD Fiona O’Loughlin is currently in fifth in the three-seater with Sinn Fein’s Patricia Ryan on course to take the first seat and Fine Gael’s Martin Heydon going to win the second. Labour’s Mark Wall is in third place at the moment but is just over 100 votes clear of independent Cathal Berry, a former army ranger and doctor who is based in Portarlington. Fiona O’Loughlin, who was first elected to the Dail in 2016, is almost 500 votes off Wall at the moment but is expected to benefit from transfers from her running mate Suzanne Doyle, who has been eliminated. Her 3,782 votes will be distributed when counting resumes on Monday morning. Fiona McLoughlin-Healy, who has conceded defeat, will be next to go. She is an independent candidate who ran for Fine Gael in 2016 so it’ll be interesting to see if her votes benefit Martin Heydon or if Berry will pick up further transfers. On first preference votes O’Loughlin was in third place on 5,927 votes with Wall on 5,899 and Berry on 5,742. But Berry has so far picked up 759 transfers compared to O’Loughlin’s 251. Wall has done even better on transfers to date by winning 779 extra votes – with 506 alone in the 4th count following the elimination of Ronan Maher of the Green Party. Wall, who missed out on the third seat in 2016, gained more than 1,600 first preferences on this occasion. He was boosted pre-election by a significant area around his home base in Castlemitchell returning to the Kildare South constituency having been in Laois in 2016. Patricia Ryan saw an even bigger increase in her vote as she was another of the Sinn Fein candidates to sweep home. She more than doubled her first preference vote from 4,267 in 2016 to 10,155 on this occasion. She was also helped by her base in Monasterevin moving back into Kildare South as well as the addition of her home place in Ballybrittas. She is still over 800 votes short of the quota but is comfortably on course to take the first seat. Kildare South is a four-seat constituency that now also includes Portarlington, Killenard and Ballybrittas. It is only electing three TDs, however, as Sean O Fearghail is automatically re-elected as the Dail’s outgoing Ceann Comhairle. Voting resumes in Kildare South at 9am on Monday morning. How they stand in Kildare South after the 4th count
SEE ALSO – Talking Politics Podcast: Brian Stanley’s finest hour as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both lose ground The post Three-way scrap for last seat in Kildare South as counting finishes for the night appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/10/three-way-scrap-for-last-seat-in-kildare-south-as-counting-finishes-for-the-night/
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Day 1 of General Election 2020 has come to an end – and what a roller-coaster it has been. The story across the country was one of the same – an astonishing Sinn Fein surge. That was replicated in Laois-Offaly as Brian Stanley topped the poll with a surplus of 5,000. Count 2 saw the distribution of Stanley’s surplus with the majority of those going to People-Before-Profit’s Stephen Tynan and Independent Carol Nolan. Count 3 saw the elimination of Noel O’Rourke (Renua) and John Daly (The National Party) but once again the distribution of their votes didn’t elect anyone. So, Pauline Flanagan (Fianna Fail), has now been eliminated and her votes will be transferred in the fourth count. Returning officer Paul Featherstonhaugh then announced that counting was postponed and will resume at 9am on Monday morning when Pauline Flanagan’s 1,874 votes will be distributed. They will mostly be expected to benefit her Laois Fianna Fail colleague Sean Fleming with fellow Portlaoise candidate Noel Tuohy of Labour also expected to benefit. However, they again won’t be enough to get anyone over the line with the next lowest candidate then eliminated and their votes distributed. That is expected to be Stephen Tynan as he is more than 400 votes behind Labour’s Noel Tuohy. Tuohy will be the next to be eliminated unless he overtakes Ken Smollen from Tullamore who is close to 600 votes ahead of him at the moment. The state of play after the 3rd count
Check out the pictures below and be sure to come back to us for more action bright and early tomorrow morning:
SEE ALSO – Check out all the 2020 General Election coverage on LaoisToday The post In Pictures: All the best images from Day 1 of General Election 2020 in Laois-Offaly appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/in-pictures-all-the-best-images-from-day-1-of-general-election-2020-in-laois-offaly/ Counting in the Laois-Offaly constituency has been postponed until Monday morning with the elimination of Fianna Fail’s Pauline Flanagan and no further elections. The distribution of Noel O’Rourke (Renua) and John Daly (Irish National Party) votes weren’t enough to get any of the candidates over the line so the next lowest candidate – Pauline Flanagan – is now eliminated and her votes will be distributed first thing on Monday morning. The biggest winner again was Independent candidate Carol Nolan who picked up 180 transfers, more than any other candidate. Next in line was John Leahy with 137. Stephen Tynan – the Portlaoise-based People Before Profit candidate – again benefited well from the transfers, just as he had done from Brian Stanley’s surplus in the second count, although not to the same scale. On this occasion he got 115 transfers, compared to over 1,200 on the first count. The 3rd count transfers makes no change to the order of the candidates. Returning officer Paul Featherstonhaugh then announced that counting was postponed and will resume at 9am on Monday morning when Pauline Flanagan’s 1,874 votes will be distributed. They will mostly be expected to benefit her Laois Fianna Fail colleague Sean Fleming with fellow Portlaoise candidate Noel Tuohy of Labour also expected to benefit. However, they again won’t be enough to get anyone over the line with the next lowest candidate then eliminated and their votes distributed. That is expected to be Stephen Tynan as he is more than 400 votes behind Labour’s Noel Tuohy. Tuohy will be the next to be eliminated unless he overtakes Ken Smollen from Tullamore who is close to 600 votes ahead of him at the moment. The state of play after the 3rd count
Quota – 11,571 SEE ALSO – Talking Politics: Brian Stanley wins the day as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both lose ground The post Counting finished for the night as Fianna Fail’s Pauline Flanagan to be eliminated next appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/counting-finished-for-the-night-as-fianna-fails-pauline-flanagan-to-be-eliminated-next/ Independent Carol Nolan – a former member of the Sinn Fein party – has strengthened her grip on the fifth seat in the Laois-Offaly constituency following the transfer of Brian Stanley’s surplus in the second count. Nolan, who parted terms with Sinn Fein over her stance on the 8th Amendment, picked up 746 transfers from Stanley, her former party colleague to move almost 1,600 votes clear of Fine Gael’s Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy who looks set to lose the seat she won in 2011. Corcoran-Kennedy picked up just 66 transfers on the second count. The biggest beneficiary, however, of Stanley’s huge surplus was Stephen Tynan of People Before Profit who gained over 1,200 transfers, bringing him to from 910 first preferences to 2,128. Tynan is Portlaoise-based and that boost has seen him overtake Fianna Fail’s Pauline Flanagan and ensure he remains in the race for that bit longer. Fianna Fail’s Sean Fleming gained 480 votes while Barry Cowen got 212 to nudge them closer to the quota – though they too still remain quite a bit off the quota of 11,571. It now means that returning officer Paul Featherstonhaugh moves onto the third count. Both Noel O’Rourke of Renua and John Daly of the Irish National Party will be eliminated; O’Rourke as he is the bottom-placed and Daly as he cannot overtake Pauline Flanagan even if he were to receive all of the transfers. It also means that Pauline Flanagan will be in line to be eliminated next at which stage she will have almost 2,000 votes to transfer with many of those expected to go to her FF colleague in Laois Sean Fleming. Noel Tuohy, as a fellow Portlaoise candidate, will also benefit. However, that still won’t get Fleming over the line so whoever is next in line – Tynan or Tuohy will be next to go. The state of play after the 2nd count
SEE ALSO – Talking Politics: Brian Stanley wins the day as Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both lose ground The post Carol Nolan maintains her advantage for fifth seat in Laois-Offaly after Stanley transfers appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/carol-nolan-maintains-her-advantage-for-fifth-seat-in-laois-offaly-after-stanley-transfers/ Brought to you in association with Midlands Park Hotel There have been big election results before – but this one is like never before. The people wanted change and they voted accordingly and emphatically. Sinn Fein’s biggest day and best ever electoral performance has led to Brian Stanley’s finest hour. After getting 2,600 votes on his first attempt in 2002 and 3,656 in 2007 when he also lost out, he polled over 8,000 in both 2011 and 2016 when winning a seat. This time he topped the poll, was elected on the first count and pulled in over 16,500 first preference votes with a whopping surplus of over 5,000. The biggest loser of this election was Fine Gael’s Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy who is set to lose her seat after nine years in the Dail. But it wasn’t an overly good day for Fianna Fail or Fine Gael with Sean Fleming, Barry Cowen and Sean Fleming all losing votes. They’ll be elected but they’re not going back to Leinster House in any great style. The biggest winner then in that context then is Carol Nolan who leads the way for the fifth seat. In a special edition of our Talking Politics podcast, recorded from the count centre in Portlaoise, presenter Steven Miller is joined by John Whelan to look over the 2020 General Election. SEE ALSO – Keep up to date with all the coverage from the count centre on the LaoisToday Live Blog The post Talking Politics: Brian Stanley wins the day while Fine Gael and Fianna Fail both lose appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/talking-politics-brian-stanley-wins-the-day-while-fine-gael-and-fianna-fail-both-lose/ Laois-Offaly Fianna Fail candidate Barry Cowen has labelled the huge surge in Sinn Fein support as a ‘costly punt’. Mr Cowen, who is well placed to regain his seat in the constituency, made the comments shortly after Sinn Fein’s Brian Stanley was elected with a huge surplus on the first count. And while Cowen isn’t convinced Sinn Fein can deliver on their election promises – he says that he saw it coming. He said: “I want to congratulate Brian Stanley and his party on their success – a huge endorsement of his candidacy “He deserves all our congratulations. I did see it coming – I felt during the course of my campaign that the opinion polls weren’t too far out. “There was definitely support for change and a lot of didn’t see that change manifesting itself in our candidacy. “There was a lot of searching conversations on the doorsteps in my efforts to dissuade people but ultimately they have taken a punt – a very costly punt in my opinion. “It remains to be seen how Sinn Fein will find the €22 billion to match the promises that they made.” Fianna Fail do look like they will end up as the biggest party but Cowen says their election result would have been better if they had forced an election earlier. They were in a supply and confidence agreement with Fine Gael since 2016 and Cowen says they remained in that agreement in the national interest. He said: “They went for change and didn’t see us as that change. If we wanted to be selfish we would have jumped ship from government a year ago. “But that wasn’t in the national interest. But many people didn’t recognise or appreciate that because it didn’t affect their pockets. “Thankfully it didn’t because it would’ve if there were a crash out Brexit due to the inconsistencies in the support for the government. It wasn’t the popular thing to do but it was the right thing to do and we stand by that decision. “But if one wanted to be selfish, we might have gone to the country 12 months ago and we could be in a different position in terms of seats than we are now.” Cowen says that while the electorate were clearly unhappy with the two big parties – he says they were even angrier back in 2011 when they turfed Fianna Fail out of office following the financial crash. He said: “The electorate were angrier in 2011. At that time, we took decisions that were definitely not in the interest of the party. “My own brother (Brian) was very straight and honest with the people when he did that. “It wasn’t for his betterment or Fianna Fail’s betterment that he did that. It has proven to be for the country’s betterment because it formed the basis for the economic recovery that has ensued. “Now that recovery has not touched everyone and many people felt we were not best placed to enact the change they wanted to see. “But it is a very expensive change and Sinn Fein will have to seek to honour it now. So they and their colleagues on the left will have to go away and form a government and find this €22 billion that they are adamant is there. “I don’t see where they are going to pull it from. But we’ll wait and see.” Mr Cowen also wouldn’t be drawn on whether he was opposed to Fianna Fail entering a coalition with Sinn Fein. He said: “We’ve yet to see all the results emerge. What is happening at present is that people’s first preference votes are emerging in the first count. “It is like the second half of a match then when you get into the transfers. “So we don’t know what way that is all going to pan out until the numbers are settled and the results are in. “Then I will consult with my own party and we will make a decision inside those four walls.” The post Cowen labels Sinn Fein vote a ‘costly punt’ by voters appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/cowen-labels-sinn-fein-vote-a-costly-punt-by-voters/ Sinn Fein’s Patricia Ryan is on course for election in the Kildare South constituency. Voters from Portarlington, Killenard and Ballybrittas took part in this constituency after they were moved here in 2016. The first count results are as follows: Cathal Berry (IND) 5,742 Suzanne Doyle (FF) 3,580, Linda Hayden (SD) 1,338, Martin Heydon (FG) 8,069, Ronan Maher (GP) 1,639, Fiona McLoughlin-Healy (IND) 3,616, Anita Mhic Gib (AON) 697, Fiona O’Loughlin (FF) 5,927, Patricia Ryan (SF) 10,155, Roisin Ui Bhroin (SOL-PBP) 598, Mark Wall (Lab) 5,899 With the quota at 11,816, it will take a couple of counts to get the first election here. Roisin Ui Bhroin and Anita Mhic Gib have now been eliminated from the race and their votes will be redistributed. After Ryan, Fianna Fail’s Fiona O’Loughlin and Fine Gael’s Martin Heydon are the most likely to fill the remaining two seats. The post Sinn Fein’s Ryan in pole position in Kildare South after first count appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/sinn-feins-ryan-in-pole-position-in-kildare-south-after-first-count/ Brian Stanley has become the first person from the Laois-Offaly constituency to be elected to the 33rd Dail. The Sinn Fein candidate has topped the poll with a massive 16,654 votes. This is 5,083 over the quota. The second count will be the distribution of this surplus. The quota is 11,571. In alphabetical order this is the first count: Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy (FG), 4,519; Barry Cowen (FF), 8,677; John Daly (NP) 441; Charlie Flanagan (FG), 7,463; Pauline Flanagan (FF), 1,744; Sean Fleming (FF), 7,636; Pippa Hackett (GP), 3,494; John Leahy (IND), 3,463; Carol Nolan (IND), 5,436; Peter Ormond (FF), 4,073; Noel O’ Rourke (Renua), 290; Ken Smollen (IDP), 2,611; Brian Stanley (SF), 16,654 (Elected); Noel Tuohy (LAB), 2,011 and Stephen Tynan (PBP), 910. Where Brian Stanley’s surplus ends up is going to determine a lot of who will get the remaining seats. Sean Fleming, Barry Cowen, Charlie Flanagan and Carol Nolan are in pole position at the minute which would see Marcella Corcoran Kennedy lose her seat. Speaking earlier, Brian Stanley said: “In the first instance, we will try to get into government. But we are not going to flip flop around the place or be a mudguard for any other party. “We have very clear policies and proposals and unless we can ensure that large parts of that are at the centre of government and doable in the timelines available – they are the issues that will decide whether we are in government or on the opposition benches. “We are in government in the North and we want to be in government here also.” The post ELECTED: Brian Stanley tops the poll in Laois-Offaly on first count appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/elected-brian-stanley-tops-the-poll-in-laois-offaly-on-first-count/ The final tallies in Kildare South as Monasterevin Sinn Fein candidate set to take first seat2/9/2020 Sinn Fein are also on course to top the poll in the Kildare South constituency with the Monasterevin candidate Patricia Ryan set to take in almost 10,000 first preference votes. Ryan was the candidate that hit the headlines recently for going on holidays during the final week of the campaign but with a huge surge of support for the party she has more than doubled her vote from the 2016 election. She is a native of Ballybrittas, a part of Laois that is now in the Kildare South constituency. Indeed in the last election, she took in 4,267 first preferences when her base in Monasterevin was actually in the then three-seat Laois constituency. According to the tallies from the Kildare count centre in Punchestown she has polled 9,717 or 21.4% of the vote. That will leave her almost 2,000 clear of second placed candidate Martin Heydon of Fine Gael who has brought in 7,854 vote. Fianna Fail’s Fiona O’Loughlin is next on 5,796 though just ahead of Labour’s Mark Wall on 5,779. The constituency is now a four-seater though Fianna Fail’s Sean O Fearghail is automatically re-elected as the outgoing Ceann Comhairle. Portarlington-based independent candidate Cathal Berry is next with 5,075 ahead of another independent Fiona McLoughlin-Healy who is almost 1,500 votes further back, slightly ahead of Suzanne Doyle of Fianna Fail. With the projected quota set to be 11,355, Patricia Ryan won’t be elected on the first count so Roisin ui Bhroin of People Before Profit will be eliminated first. Mark Wall has see his vote increase by about 1,500 and he could be in a battle with Fiona O’Loughlin for the last seat. Wall’s 12.7% of the vote is in contrast to Labour’s national performance of under 5%. O’Loughlin’s vote looks like it will be down over 1,000 from her first success four years ago. She has a running mate in Suzanne Doyle but between the two of them they have just over 20% of the vote, which is still short of one quota. In all there was 45,976 votes cast in Kildare South for a turnout of 59.8%. The tally from the Kildare South constituency is:
SEE ALSO – Follow all of our live coverage from Day 1 of the General Election count in Kildare South
The post The final tallies in Kildare South as Monasterevin Sinn Fein candidate set to take first seat appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/the-final-tallies-in-kildare-south-as-monasterevin-sinn-fein-candidate-set-to-take-first-seat/ Pippa Hackett will record The Green Party’s best ever vote in Laois-Offaly when the first count results are published this evening – but it will not be enough to see her win a seat. She is set to get around 3,369 votes and 4.9% which is a best ever performance for the constituency in Laois-Offaly. Though originally from Mayo, Pippa is well settled in Geashill where she and her husband Mark farm organically on their 200-acre holding. And while she is disappointed not to win a seat, Pippa is pleased with the progress She said: “In one sense it is brilliant because we have come from zero to this. “I think it bodes well for the future and there is certainly more engagement in Laois-Offaly on green issues over the last few years. “So we want to build on this, grow the membership and improve on this. “I think we get this negative narrative the whole time about the Green Party being anti-rural, anti-agriculture and anti-midlands – and that couldn’t be further from the truth. “The work that we put in to try bring solutions to this area has been gargantuan in comparison to other parties. “But that seems to be a difficult layer to shed off. Maybe our messaging needs to change but there is more engagement now so we have a brighter future.” We saw a ‘Green Wave’ in the local and European elections last May but that hasn’t translated in the same fashion in this election. Hackett puts a lot of that down to what she sees as a ‘protest vote’ against the government which has gone to Sinn Fein. She said: “I think this Sinn Fein vote is a protest vote. If you go back three weeks ago to the start of this campaign – I don’t think anyone could have foreseen this. “So if in three weeks, something can turn around – it is actually concerning that people’s views can change so dramatically in that space of time. “We had really strong candidates in different parts of the country who aren’t performing as well as we had hoped but this protest vote has unseated that in a sense.” Hackett does see a scenario though where the Green Party could go into government with Sinn Fein. She said: “We’ve always said we’d talk to everyone and Sinn Fein policy aren’t too bad on climate action. “But they have nothing on bio-diversity so there is a few gaps that would have to be bridged. “We will talk to Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour. We’ve always said we’d speak to everyone.” Hackett was elected to Offaly County Council last May when she won a seat in the Edenderry district but she was no length in that role when she was elevated to the Senate following Grace O’Sullivan’s election to Europe. Her husband Mark was duly co-opted to Offaly County Council and Pippa hopes to retain her Seanad seat. She said: “I will put my name forward for the Seanad again and I hope I will get a nomination from my own party again. “Fingers crossed that might work out and it will keep a rural voice on the agricultural panel if I am selected.” The post Best ever Green Party performance in Laois-Offaly but no seat for Hackett appeared first on Laois Today. from https://www.laoistoday.ie/2020/02/09/best-ever-green-party-performance-in-laois-offaly-but-no-seat-for-hackett/ |
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