Seanad nominations for inside candidates closed yesterday with a number of failed election candidates given a second chance at public office by their parties.

A former MEP, failed Dáil candidates and party councillors are in the running to be added to a list of nominees for the upcoming Seanad elections.

A sideways glance at Election 2020.

Fine Gael was the most talked about political party on Twitter in the first full week of the election campaign.

The Green Party's bright young star, Saoirse McHugh, has revealed some pretty radical ideas as to her ideal vision of how Ireland should be run.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has described the treatment of a TG4 cameraman at a public meeting on Achill island earlier this week as “deeply disturbing”.

The Green Party leader has said he would be open to going into government after the next election.

Green Party European elections star Saoirse McHugh has warned that both she and the ‘Green wave’ could “leave” the party if leaders join a coalition with Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil after the next general election.

The Green party hierarchy has set its sights on running European elections candidate, Saoirse McHugh, in a Seanad by-election to replace newly-elected party MEP Grace O'Sullivan in the upper house.

If the public want a sustainable future, we need to return to deriving our entertainment from concerts, soccer matches, and get-togethers, not from loud-mouthed politicians who seek to divide in order to win power, writes Joyce Fegan

Green Party MEP candidate, Saoirse McHugh, is being lined up to contest the Seanad seat vacated by Grace O'Sullivan.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the State may need to introduce electronic voting following the marathon European election stand-off in Ireland South.

Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinness was elected to the first of the four seats on Monday.

The race for seats in Ireland South has heated up as Labour candidate Shelia Nunan and Fine Gael's Andrew Doyle have both been eliminated in the 15th count.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has insisted her position is not under threat despite her party losing almost half its local council seats and potentially two of its three MEPs in this week's elections.

Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is set to be re-elected this morning — but a neck-and-neck race lower down the pecking order last night saw Peter Casey come within a few hundred votes of an upset.

Dublin's four new MEP seats have finally been decided, after three days of counting.

The Government is set to publish a new climate change action report by mid-June in a bid to outline Ireland's plans to address the crisis - and woo a resurgent Green party before the general election.

Re-elected Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness has said the growing chances of her and running mate Maria Walsh being winning Midlands North West European elections seats is an "absolutely magic" result.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has admitted candidate Saoirse McHugh is looking increasingly unlikely to win a European elections seat despite "inspiring" the country with her campaign.

The country has been placed on red alert for an early general election this year, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisting he “can’t rule it out”.

Ciarán Cuffe’s was on the verge of a landmark win for the Green Party in the European elections in Dublin last night after topping the poll on the first count.

Five European election candidates are bracing themselves for a major battle for what looks like just three remaining seats in Midlands North West with the election count expected to drag on into the middle of this week.

Green leader Eamon Ryan has called for a series of rainbow alliances with other parties following his party’s historic election wins.

Eamon Ryan has an excellent way of communicating to people what needs to be done on climate action, be it at the corporate and Government level, or the personal one, writes Alison O'Connor

Fine Gael MEP candidate Maria Walsh has backed fellow Mayo woman Greens candidate Saoirse McHugh to make a huge impact in Irish politics, saying she is a "phenomenal person".

Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring has warned "anything could happen" in the battle for the final two seats in the Midlands North West European election when the official counts start to be announced tonight.

Green Party candidate Saoirse McHugh says she is not sure how she will travel to Brussels if she is elected in the Midlands North West constituency.

Sinn Féin's sitting MEP Matt Carthy believes his Midlands North West vote haul may be up to 2% lower than Friday's exit poll suggested and that he will be in a "dog fight" for the final two European seats.

Eamon Ryan has refused to rule a future coalition with either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael, even though leading members of his party “do not trust them.”

Results of the votes here will not be announced until 10pm tonight due to a European-wide embargo.

Latest: Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has suggested Leo Varadkar could be facing a worse local election performance than Enda Kenny.

The likely MEP elections Green gallop and a predicted left-leaning parties transfer trend could kick-start a debate about a long-overdue Irish "progressives" political bloc, writes political correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

Ms McHugh, a 28-year-old environmentalist from Achill Island in Mayo, is in real contention to squeeze out both sitting MEP Luke Ming Flanagan and Fine Gael's celebrity candidate Maria Walsh for a seat in Midlands North West.

Green TDs have accused other election candidates of “hijacking” their campaign issues as the party urges voters, both young and old, to give them their number ones on Friday.

On Friday, Irish citizens will be asked to cast their vote for candidates who will represent them in the European Parliament, as well as at local council level and a referendum on divorce legislation.

Leo Varadkar must scrap the Government’s 2040 national development plan if he is serious about climate change, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar must scrap the Government's 2040 national development plan if he is serious about climate change, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said.