GE2024 Sinn FéinSINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald has said her party would have benefitted if the election campaign continued for one more week.
She told reporters in a packed media scrum that she doesn’t want to see “another five years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil” in government, adding that she thinks it will be “a bad outcome for our society”.
Later, while speaking to RTÉ News, McDonald said voters were eager to cast a ballot for the “politics of change” during the final week of the election campaign and that her party would have benefitted if the campaign continued for an extra week.
Sinn Féin members in many count centres have told The Journal that they are pleased with the results, in the context of opinion polling results earlier in this year and the party’s performance in the local elections in June.
McDonald echoed this sentiment to reporters in Dublin this evening: “We have done very, very well.”
Speaking at the RDS Count Centre in Dublin, McDonald thanked all who helped her and her party during the election campaign and said she will be speaking to parties on the left after all votes are counted.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou Mcdonald arrives at the RDS count centre.
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She said: “We went into this election operation from what was a historic high. I think it’s fair to say that we have now confirmed that we have broken the political hold here in this state and two-party politics is now gone.”
She said that Sinn Féin will move heaven and earth to improve the lives of citizens and is eager to see the final results of the count.
Asked if the party will have enough seats to go into government, McDonald said: “What we can say is that other parties of the left, others that are like us want change, similarly have secured a strong mandate.”
Though no official pact was agreed upon before the election, it is likely McDonald’s party will pick up seats from other parties on the left. She asked her party’s supporters on Thursday to continue their preferences to People Before Profit and the Social Democrats.
Despite a tough competition nationwide, and exit poll figures placing parties neck-and-neck, Sinn Féin is set to retain the majority of their seats in the Dáil – judging by early tally figures.
McDonald’s vote share, according to tallies, was the highest in the very competitive constituency of Dublin Central at 19.4%. But the Sinn Féin leader has lost a quarter of her first-preference votes compared to the 2020 general election.
Even while speaking to media, The Journal witnessed people attending the count in the RDS heckle the Sinn Féin leader as she claimed her victory.
Someone could be heard shouting “oh are Sharia Féin doing well?”. And another person repeatedly calling her “Mary Mohammad” – a common reference used by those who are against the party’s pro-immigration stance.
Some high-profile contenders are in the constituency, seeking to eat into the usual Sinn Féin base. Gerald ‘The Monk’ Hutch, a veteran criminal, is one of them and has managed to pick up around 9% of first-preference votes.
“It is nothing short of extraordinary,” according to film director Jim Sheridan, who is filming a programme about his campaign and rocked up to the RDS in Dublin this afternoon. He admitted to reporters that he was taken aback by the figures.
Total exit poll figures may have underestimated Fianna Fáil – meaning Sinn Féin could lose out on their position as the most-popular party in the country.
Keep up to date with all the latest on The Journal’s Liveblog.
Additional reporting by Jane Matthews at the RDS in Dublin.
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