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Brian Hayes Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Here’s who’s in the running to take Brian Hayes's vacant Dáil seat

The junior minister’s departure creates a vacancy in his Dublin South-West Dáil constituency.

FINE GAEL TD Brian Hayes’s election to the European Parliament earlier this week means that two political positions have opened up.

The now vacant office of Minister of State for the OPW and junior finance minister is likely to be reassigned in the Cabinet reshuffle next month.

But of more interest to politicos will be the by-election for his Dáil seat in Dublin South-West which will be hotly-contested by the political parties later this year. 

Hayes’s election on Monday meant he immediately vacated his Dáil seat and his departure for Brussels automatically triggers a by-election for his seat in the Dáil within six months.

The coalition parties

Fine Gael will not be overly confident of retaining the seat given the party’s performance in the local and European elections and the strong working class vote in the area.

The party will either run Senator Cáit Keane, who came fifth in the four-seat constituency in the 2011 general election, or else opt to blood a younger candidate and give them electoral experience with the likes of Emer Higgins, Colm BrophyAnne-Marie Dermody and, even, Kenneth Egan in the mix.

Keane, a former Progressive Democrats councillor, has remained active and prominent in the area in recent years, particularly around the Terenure and Templeogue areas which are her strongholds.

The party may opt for her given the experiment of running the well-known, but politically inexperienced, Eamonn Coghlan in Dublin West didn’t go to plan as he finished fifth and put in a dreadful performance in an important TV debate.

Labour, which holds two of the four Dáil seats (Pat Rabbitte and Eamonn Maloney), could run councillor Mick Duff, who has a strong support base in Tallaght. Or it could opt for Pamela Kearns.

The party is unlikely to win the seat which means it could opt to field a younger candidate to give them new experience. In that case, one strong contender would be the newly-elected Martina Genockey who shot to national prominence during the election campaign.

The opposition

Former Fianna Fáil TD Charlie O’Connor, who won a seat on South Dublin County Council last week, is likely to look at regaining the Dáil seat he lost in 2011 when he finished sixth, ahead of former minister Conor Lenihan who has since left politics. But the former government party may seek to bring in a fresh face in the form of councillor John Lahart.

Sinn Féin holds one Dáil seat in the area through its foreign affairs spokesperson Seán Crowe and will be expected to poll strongly, particularly in light of its success in some wards in the constituency where it got enough of a vote to take three or four seats but only had two candidates. Its likely candidate is councillor Cathal King but Eoin Ó Broin might also come into contention.

One possible independent candidate is former South Dublin mayor Dermot Looney who resigned from Labour over its policies in government. He was easily re-elected to the council on a non-party ticket last weekend and would poll strongly.

The Socialist Party could run either Mick Murphy, who has competed in every election in the constituency since 1997, or offer Paul Murphy, its outgoing MEP, a chance to restart his political career by running for the Dáil.

Note: A version of this article was originally published on 29 January 2014 and has been republished now that Hayes has been elected to the European Parliament. 

Read: A Ming Dynasty? Here’s who’s in the running to take the MEP’s vacant Dáil seat

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62 Comments
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    Mute Middle Class Cork
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    May 7th 2015, 8:36 PM

    Mcdonalds is always there for me too. Unfortunately for my waist!!

    242
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    May 7th 2015, 9:16 PM

    I hate McDonald’s and yet I find their double cheeseburgers annoyingly addictive…

    122
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    Mute Gaeltán
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    May 8th 2015, 7:15 AM

    #Jimmy
    Mar tá siad lá le siúrce agus cimicí chun go mbeidh tú tugtha dóibh.

    10
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    Mute Jax Maxwel
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    May 8th 2015, 10:02 AM

    Gaeltan,
    Perché si rispondere a un commento in una lingua diversa ? è rozzo

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    Mute Derek Mahon
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    May 8th 2015, 10:03 AM

    Is maith liom sceallóga agus ispíní.

    13
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    May 8th 2015, 12:12 PM

    Eh?

    1
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    Mute Ryan Kelly
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    May 7th 2015, 8:32 PM

    Breaking News: James Franco worked in McDonald’s. Bad day at the office Journal?

    93
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    Mute Al Beebak
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    May 7th 2015, 8:33 PM

    I know the feeling James, mc Donald’s has often taken me out of a hole too.

    61
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    Mute Dermot Quinn
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    May 7th 2015, 9:21 PM

    Ironic, mackers has taken the hole out of me more than once.

    77
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    Mute Dermot Quinn
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    May 7th 2015, 9:36 PM

    Silly boy.

    19
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    Mute Barry Walsh
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    May 7th 2015, 9:39 PM

    To be fair it reads a bit like james got a few dollars for reading that script!

    44
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    Mute Norman Hunter
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    May 7th 2015, 8:58 PM

    McDonald’s where even the salads are unhealthy.

    33
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    Mute Michael Mclaughlin
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    May 7th 2015, 9:06 PM

    Pure manure!!

    24
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    Mute Richard Griffin
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    May 7th 2015, 8:40 PM

    Terrible actor, brutal Director and an even worse artist… one guy that should have never given up the day job…

    23
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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    May 7th 2015, 8:57 PM

    What have you done lately?

    95
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    Mute Paul O'Neill
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    May 7th 2015, 8:51 PM

    Let’s put this to bed once and for all…Big Mac or Whopper??

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    Mute Michael Mclaughlin
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    May 7th 2015, 8:54 PM

    Neither.

    34
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    Mute Middle Class Cork
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    May 7th 2015, 9:04 PM

    Big Mac on its own or a Whopper if you whack a few BK onion rings into it! Now thats me darza!!

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    Mute Sam
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    May 7th 2015, 10:32 PM

    The double cheeseburger for €2

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    Mute Michael Mclaughlin
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    May 7th 2015, 8:41 PM

    Often emptied my hole!!

    21
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    Mute Bill Rooney
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    May 7th 2015, 9:12 PM

    Caroline did?

    She always was dirty.

    Ask the lads…..

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    Mute Will Derbylight
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    May 7th 2015, 9:39 PM

    Yeah, Cal is well known………

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    Mute Pete Gibson
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    May 8th 2015, 8:18 AM

    A “full Irish breakfast” is far more dangerous to your waistline than anything served up in McDonalds.
    Anyway,why pick on McDonalds?
    ALL restaurants serve up fattening foods.
    Ever wondered what’s in that “Nouveau Cusine” they serve up in upmarket restaurants?

    At least McDonalds is spotlessly clean and hygienic.
    Unlike a lot of other “greasy spoon” dumps you see on the high street.

    And a LOT cleaner and hygienic than most Irish kitchens I have seen.

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    Mute Colonel Redbeard
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    May 8th 2015, 10:49 AM

    McDonalds sells happiness. I’d have it every other month but never as my main meal of the day.

    Large chicken legend meal, salsa, no bacon, with coke. That’s the one and only meal I eat at McDonalds and I’d happily eat it everyday if I could get away with it. Add chicken nuggets and its €10 exactly.

    2
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