Roscommon-Galway RESULT: Fitzmaurice, Naughten and Kerrane elected

Sinn Féin’s Claire Kerrane made history in the Roscommon-Galway constituency by becoming the first TD from the party to be elected for over a century.

She was elected on the sixth count without reaching the quota, ending on 10,545 votes after getting 463 transfers from Denis Naughten’s surplus. She finished 1,300 votes ahead of outgoing Fianna Fáil TD Eugene Murphy.

That completes the count for the constituency, with two Independents, Michael Fitzmaurice and Denis Naughten elected – the latter in darkness at 2am during a power cut.

In 1917 George Noble Plunkett won a by-election in North Roscommon for Sinn Féin as an MP, the first time the party won a seat in Westminster.

Her win means that the constituency continues its contrarian streak – it is the first occasion since the foundation of the State that neither Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael did not take a seat. The county is famous for never returning the same politicians, always choosing at least one new candidate.

She will be only the second woman ever to win a seat in Roscommon and the first since Joan Burke who served for 17 years until her retirement in 1981.

Aged just 27, the native of Castlerea is a NUI Galway politics graduate and a qualified teacher who is employed by the party as a political adviser on employment affairs, social protection and pensions.

In the 2016 election, she polled over 3,000 first preferences.

“I’m over the moon, delighted. We have been building this constituency for the last four years in particular. We have worked hard, and I think the party nationally with Mary Lou at the helm has done really well. It’s a great day. It’s a historic day for Ireland in the Republic,” she exclaimed, after her election on count five.

“I think the appetite for change was just immense. The attitude at the doors compared to 2016 was totally different. You had FF or FG voter who were voting for “Sinn Fein for the first time.

“They were giving us a chance, and that was what the whole election was about. Sinn Féin never had a chance, but it has been given to us today. We have to meet and sit down and hopefully put together a programme for government, hopefully with others from the left.

“Our objective is to deliver what we have put forward in this election. I think Mary Lou seems fairly adamant that we will go into government and I think everyone in the party they know the only way to deliver is to get into government.

“We’ll be there, and we’ll be willing to speak to anybody to make that happen.”

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

SIXTH COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) Elected
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422 +635 9057 +362 9419 + 1447 10,866 +3817 14,683 Elected
Kerrane, Clare (SF) 8,003 +319 8322 +368 8690 +712 9402 +680 10,082 + 463 10,545
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466 +169 5635 +75 5710 +452 6162 + 1146 9204
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945 +256 5201 +180 5381 +1861 7242 +816 8058
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953 +171 3124 +73 3197 Eliminated
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413 +32 1445 +165 1610 Eliminated
Hope, James (Aontu) 504 +38 542 Eliminated
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422 +20 442 Eliminated
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319 +12 331 Eliminated
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88 +21 109 – Eliminated

Clare Kerrane elected without reaching the quota.

FIFTH COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) Elected
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422 +635 9057 +362 9419 + 1447 10,866 +3817 14,683
Kerrane, Clare (SF) 8,003 +319 8322 +368 8690 +712 9402 +680 10,082
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466 +169 5635 +75 5710 +452 6162
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945 +256 5201 +180 5381 +1861 7242 +816 8058
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953 +171 3124 +73 3197 Eliminated
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413 +32 1445 +165 1610 Eliminated
Hope, James (Aontu) 504 +38 542 Eliminated
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422 +20 442 Eliminated
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319 +12 331 Eliminated
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88 +21 109 – Eliminated

Denis Naughten takes the second seat elected.
Distribution of Naughten’s surplus of 3,279 votes.

FOURTH COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) Elected
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422 +635 9057 +362 9419 + 1447 10,866
Kerrane, Clare (SF) 8,003 +319 8322 +368 8690 +712 9402
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466 +169 5635 +75 5710 +452 6162
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945 +256 5201 +180 5381 +1861 7242
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953 +171 3124 +73 3197 Eliminated
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413 +32 1445 +165 1610 Eliminated
Hope, James (Aontu) 504 +38 542 Eliminated
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422 +20 442 Eliminated
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319 +12 331 Eliminated
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88 +21 109 – Eliminated

Nobody deemed elected. Eliminated Aisling Dolan.

THIRD COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) Elected
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422 +635 9057 +362 9419
Kerrane, Clare (SF) 8,003 +319 8322 +368 8690
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466 +169 5635 +75 5710
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945 +256 5201 +180 5381
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953 +171 3124 +73 3197
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413 +32 1445 +165 1610
Hope, James (Aontu) 504 +38 542 Eliminated
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422 +20 442 Eliminated
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319 +12 331 Eliminated
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88 +21 109 – Eliminated

Nobody deemed elected. Eliminated O’Donoghue and Leyden.

SECOND COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) 13,077 Elected
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422 +635 9057
Kerrane, Clare (SF) 8,003 +319 8322
Dolan, Aisling (FG) 5,466 +169 5635
Murphy Eugene (FF) 4,945 +256 5201
Leyden, Orla (FF) 2,953 +171 3124
O’Donoghue, Julie (GP) 1,413 +32 1445
Hope, James (Aontu) 504 +38 542
Tynan, Kieran (SPBP) 422 +20 442
Hanley, Paul (National Party) 319 +12 331
Fallon, Thomas D (Ind) 88 +21 109

Eliminated Fallon, Hanley, Hope and Tynan

FIRST COUNT
Fitzmaurice, Michael (Ind) 13,077
Naughten, Denis (Ind) 8,422
Kerrane, 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.