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GABRIELLE McFADDEN has comfortably topped the poll in the Longford-Westmeath by-election.
McFadden received 12,365 first preference votes, just over a quarter of the total votes cast. It puts her at precisely half the quota needed to get elected. She was finally announced as the constituency’s newest TD – for Fine Gael – after midnight this morning.
McFadden is the sister of Nicky McFadden whose death led to the by-election.
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In second place behind McFadden was Aengus O’Rourke who received 8,910 first preference votes. Sinn Féin’s Paul Hogan polled in third with 7,548 votes.
O'Rourke admits by-election seat is McFadden's to lose, though says he is delighted with his vote for first shot at Dail seat #lw14
Two independents John McNamara and Donal Jackson were eliminated first with their transfers distributed among the rest of the candidates. Labour’s Denis Leonard has also now been eliminated and his 3,352 votes are now being distribution for the third count.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny arrived at the count centre in Keenagh, Co Longford yesterday evening in anticipation of McFadden’s election.
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She was simply stating fact. The fact that she has already served as a Councillor for years meaning she has already got political experience is why she was elected. She was well ahead of 2nd place Aengus O’Rourke for Fianna Fail.
Politics running in families is one of the reasons why we are in such a mess. Better quality candidates don’t bother running because they don’t see the point against the cronyism politics of the Healy Raes, Springs, Cowens…etc. That is why we have a Dail chamber full of gombeens who are only in it for the money and at the same time using taxpayers money to buy vote. And why we have monstrosities of houses blighting the countryside or pedestrian crossings on busy roundabouts because these same gombeens are being elected at local level.
Nicky originally took a seat on Westmeath County Council when co-opted into it on the retirement of her father Brendan. Gabrielle is a nice lady, always found her grand to deal with in her pet shop but electing her on a sympathy vote shows exactly what is wrong with Irish politics. Her comments on banning politics from art last year should’ve been enough to scare off any voter with half a brain. There were a number of candidates running, of various hues, who work far harder on the ground but sympathy wins the day.
Tom Tucker you are totally correct, the family cult voters are the ones who helped bring down the quality of TDS and councillors over the years, political inbreeding has been Irelands downfall
Tony
No , keep it in the Party and select a candidate who is likely to win the seat for you and that’s exactly what they did. Apart from that she’s a female and qualified as a town mayor to do the job.
Apart from the begrudgery have you any other contrived criticisms?
Talk about playing the sympathy card by getting helen mcentee to campaign with her. Why not go the whole hog and get yoko ono, jackie kennedy and do the sympathy to the max. Same old parish pump going full wack
You think “name recognition” means nothing,? Why did she not campaign in her married name,? Democracy’s fine on a level playing field,but playing the sympathy/tragedy card is LOW.
Ahhhmebollix
If you are correct then tell me why a current member was found with a car in a Dublin Hotel car park last week and therein lay a milk churn laden with good old fashioned explosives.
He wasn’t of the dissident variety and was a former senior member of the Army Council.
Don’t you dare suggest that they’ve gone away.
Oh so when you talk about civil war politics, you don’t count the civil war party that never stopped fighting in the 1900′s. The shinners are the only party allowed to change, while the same commentators still refer to FG as if Eoin Mac Neill was still alive rather than 50 years dead. Maybe this woman got elected because she was the best candidate.
There’s a difference alright. When I send someone into bat for my Ireland I expect them to do just that.. We are Irish first, Europeans second, we always will be. Some of our people died for just that nearly 100 years ago.
You must have slept through the passing of the IBRC bill. I saw FG/Lab in action that night and if ever I needed an indication as to who they really represent, I got it right there. In all it’s drunken splendor.
What I want is someone who will not go down on their knees in Brussels to beg for a bone. For me, therein lies the difference.
Last I checked an individual is not required to submit a Garda vetting form in order to affiliate with a political party. Nor is he/she required to provide a character reference in order to so.
Those fringe dwellers you speak of will never go away. They’ll always be here in one form or another. I didn’t vote for them. I voted for what Sinn Fein represent today, I did that because I sure as hell know what FG/Labour will continue to do tomorrow.
He might as well go to little mayo instead of real mayo.. Brother Henry in trouble in Castlebar. Has a sitting Taoiseach every lost his seat? The prospect might be there in 2 years
How is inbreeding alive and well? I thought it was great to see both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael get over 30% in the Longford Electoral Area and Sinn Fein only got 4%!!!
Alex when if you had kids are your wondering how your going afford to give them what they need or they get a fair chance in life you would not thing it great at all
Ah and why wouldn’t Enda endorse a good old fashioned bit of Nepotism and sympathy politics? Wouldn’t be nearly the worst thing he has done now would it??
Nepotism operates at a level in Ireland the kim Jong Un dynasty in North Korea can only dream of’; also I see that carpet bagger Hannafin got elected, there has to be an intelligence deficit in Ireland
Martin, they’d have won it anyway. In Longford, Fianna Fail ran Aengus O’Rourke and had no sympathy vote for him yet he still got nearly 30% of the vote. The left wing parties have never prospered here in Longford, which was proven again yesterday because Sinn Fein only got 4% in the Longford Local Elections.
Because Lonford has a high percentage of old conservative farming families who have voted for them since 1922 and are incapable of changing their thinking, parish pump politics at its worst ,
another one elected to the dail on a sympathy vote plain and simple with o Rourke and fianna fail doing well stupid country hicks in that part of our little country idiots and the more west you go it gets worse Ming sweet Jesus
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