Roscommon-Galway 1st Count: Fitzmaurice romps home

Michael Fitzmaurice is the first Independent candidate to be elected in the country after increasing his vote by a third to pull in over 13,000 first preferences in the Roscommon-Galway constituency, well past the quota.

In the 2016 poll, the Glinsk turf-cutting contractor attracted 9,750 votes in the first count, coming in second behind Independent TD Denis Naughten.

This time around he topped the poll with 13,077 votes, giving him 28 per cent of the vote and 1,673 over the quota.

The six foot tall politician and his wife Maria were hauled to the shoulders of his large entourage, who gathered at the count centre in Dr Hyde GAA Park in Roscommon for the first count announced at 6.45pm.

His surplus is now being distributed and the returning officer Mary Raftery will then move on to eliminate the candidate with the lowest number of votes.

Former communications minister Denis Naughten, who left Fine Gael before the last election running as an Independent, is expected to take the second seat on at least count seven after he secured 8,422 votes.

Sinn Féin’s Claire Kirrane, a 27-year-old NUIG politics graduate who has been employed as a political advisor by the party in Leinster House, is currently the favourite to take the third seat  according to the tallies.

She has 8,003 first preferences and is likely to prove extremely transfer-friendly

If she secures transfers from both Fitzmaurice and Naughten as expected, she will outpoll Fianna Fáil incumbent Eugene Murphy, who attracted just under 5,000 votes. His running mate, Orla Leydon, daughter of political stalwart Senator Terry Leyden, garnered just under 3,000 votes.

Fine Gael candidate Aisling Dolan was shoe-horned into the campaign in November joining the party after winning a seat as an Independent in the May local election after Maura Hopkins withdrew from the race following the birth of her first baby. She polled a respectable fourth place with 5,466, but is thought to have an outside chance of winning transfers.

Number of seats: 3
Electorate: 69,598
Spoiled votes: 330
Total valid poll: 45,612
Quota: 11,404

FIRST COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) 13,077
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422
Kirrane, Clare (SF) 8,003
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413
Hope, James (Aontu) 504
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88

Fitzmaurice re-elected on the first count.
Fitzmaurice’s surplus of 1,673 to be distributed.