It’s Fianna Fáíl’s day in Sligo
PAUL DEERING REPORTS ON THE SLIGO/ LEITRIM COUNT AT THE CLARION HOTEL WHERE THERE WAS LITTLE EXCITEMENT UNTIL THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS WHEN EAMON SCANLON GOT OVER THE LINE
WE’RE back, that was the cr y from the Fianna Fáil MacSharry camp in the Clarion Hotel on Sunday.
The MacSharry name was certainly back and by the end of Sunday night, the party was also back in recovery mode in Sligo and this was a real recovery unlike the slogan used by Fine Gael as part of its election strategy with regard to the economy and which had backfired so spectacularly.
There hasn’t been a MacSharry in the Dáil since the late 1980s and the thirty year gap was finally filled at the week- end with the election of Marc MacSharry at the second attempt.
Along with party colleague Eamon Scanlon, MacSharry had tasted defeat at the 2011 election and in many respects this was a pivotal election for both men. Had they failed this time around their futures would certainly have been up for discussion.
A three candidate strategy didn’t look the best option before the election for the party and as the count wore on it increasingly looked like the party had got it wrong. And, there would have been much annoyance if they ended up with just the one seat after getting a 32.4% share of the first preference vote with Fine Gael, their nearest challengers for two seats on 27.7% and for a long time looking like they would grab the two.
Going from no seats in Sligo/ Leitrim in 2011 to two turned the day into a great one for the party with Scanlon triumphing late on Sunday night fending off the challenge of former Leitrim TD Gerry Reynolds.
Like Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil seemed to struggle with how best to approach the constituency with regard to candidates and ended up adding a third late in the day and given his late entry, Leitrim’s Paddy O’Rourke did exceptionally well, polling 5,447 first preferences and stating in the fight until 11th count.
Somehow it all went right for Fianna Fáil late in the day with a surplus from Marc MacSharry of 759 votes helping to elect Scanlon with the latter getting 637 of these to edge past Reynolds. It’s a result which party leader Micheal Martin will be well pleased with and he will no doubt come under pressure to look Sligo’s way when it comes to ministerial postings provided of course that the party is in government.
Certainly, MacSharry has been a leading light for Fianna Fáil in the Senate and has been a party spokesman too while he also served on the high profile Banking Enquiry.
While one newly elected TD is on the up, it was a case of the end of another, with the political career now seemingly over for Fine Gael Deputy John Perry.
His 19 year career as a TD is over after a crushing defeat where he picked up just 4,403 first preferences (( 7.1%).
The Ballymote based former TD and junior minister had to go to the High Court in order to get on the ballot paper for the party. The swing against the Government parties obviously had
a big impact though again, three candidates in the field probably split the vote too much.
Where now for the former junior minister is the question. Naturally, there’ll be talk of a bid for a Senate seat but it remains to be seen if the party will endorse him.
The local elections, the route favoured by Eamon Scanlon to return to public life might be an option but there won’t be elections for three and a half years.
For councillor Scanlon his election was the biggest surprise at the count. On Saturday evening he told The Sligo Champion that he thought he still had a chance but only a few were giving him that as the counts wore on late on Sunday.
At one point he was 1,100 behind Reynolds in the desperate race for a seat but he kept picking up transfers along the way being elected finally on the 15th count. Pundits had written him off and it appeared there was a late rush of his supporters to the Clarion Hotel from Ballymote just in time to cheer him past the winning post.
Cross party transfers were crucial in Scanlon’s election. He picked up 631 from the surplus of Sinn Fein’s Marin Kenny and another 409 from Chris MacManus of the same party while a massive 1,031 came from his Ballymote neighbour John Perry of Fine Gael.
Scanlon also picked up 1,323 from Leitrim party colleague Paddy O’Rourke and a further 637 came from the surplus of MacSharry.
Most observers felt there would be just one seat for Sinn Fein and a first preference share of 17.8% bore that out.
Martin Kenny was the clear favourite to win a seat in the constituency but his first preference vote of 6,356 was probably down on what he expected while on the other hand the party’s second candidate, Sligo town based, Chris MacManus did exceptionally well in polling 4,747 on the first count and was well in the running before bowing out after the 12th count on 7,093 votes.
The former Borough Councillor will no doubt seek to run again and it was the only party to actually split the constituency into two though it was a risky enough strategy in the event of there not being a significant swing in its favour .
Independents were the next big sector with 9.6% of the first preference votes. The leading independent candidate was Declan Bree who polled 5.2% of the first preferences ( 3,250) surviving until after the 10th count, going out on 5,512 votes. Had he got another 200 or so votes the former Labour Party TD would have been in the running for a seat.
Another independent who did well was Streedagh teacher, councillor Marie Casser- ly who polled 4.4% of the first preferences ( 2,726 votes).
Cllr Casserly, who had the backing of the Independent Alliance, has put down a marker for future elections. Like all independents in such a vast constituency it was difficult with a small team to make an impact when up against the bigger party machines.
Cllr Casserly lasted until after the 8th count, going out on 4,138 which was a decent result for a candidate who has only been in public life since her election to the County Council in 2014.
A big disappointment was the performance of the Labour Party’s Susan O’Keeffe. She polled just 1,829 first preference votes or 2.9% which was a complete collapse of her vote in 2011 when she managed 4,553 or 10.2% and was in with a real chance of a seat. The wipe- out of the party nationally obviously didn’t help and there must be a question mark over her participation in future elections. Of the other independents, Nigel Gallagher of Anti Austerity Alliance- People Before Profit can be quite happy with his showing of 1,768 first preferences and which sets him up nicely for a tilt at the local elections in 2019.
Gallagher lasted longer in the field than the Renua and Green Party candidates and a couple of other independents. The future for Renua certainly looks bleak and might not even be in existence for much longer particularly as it failed to get anyone elected to the Dáil including its leader, Lucinda Creighton. The Green Party’s Leslie O’Hora got 603 first preferences which may form the basis for a push at a seat on Leitrim County Council in the future.
While Leitrim independents Bernie O’Hara and Des Guckian polled over a 1,000 first preference votes each they were never realistically in with a chance of a seat and neither was Eamon Murray who got 356 votes or Bernard Sweeney who got 129 votes and was the first eliminated along with Murray.