Fine Gael toasts new king in Royal County coronation

“GAME over,” he declared at 2.15pm on Saturday. The Irish rugby team was losing 18-9 to France and watching its grand slam hopes evaporate.

But the Fianna Fáil tallyman was talking about somebody else’s fortunes - namely Shane Cassells, the party’s candidate in the Meath by-election. But the game was up before the first count was declared.

Fine Gael TD Tom Hayes however, had made his predictions even earlier, from midday telling anyone who would listen to him that it was a done deal. His party’s candidate, Shane McEntee, had it in the bag.

And Mr Hayes, as Fine Gael director of elections for Meath, was feeling rightly chuffed.

Not so Noel Dempsey, who was filling the same role for Fianna Fáil.

“Tired” was the minister’s one-word response when asked by a reporter how he felt at 2.44pm. In the end, it wasn’t until 5.05pm that the first count came and, sure enough, Mr McEntee had 847 more votes than Mr Cassells. The fourth and final count came shortly after 8pm, but by then, it was little more than a formality.

The tallymen spotted the trends from early morning: Mr Cassells was simply not getting the transfers. With just one seat to be filled, and the outcome more or less known, there was little real tension in Navan prior to the result; just a mixture of regret, resignation and recrimination on the Fianna Fáil side, and sheer, unbridled joy among the Fine Gael camp - hence the bursts of song, ranging from Oh, What a Beautiful Morning to the theme tune from the A-Team.

While the other parties were there, this was really a day about just two men: Cassells and McEntee. It was Mr Cassells who entered the hall first to much applause. There were handshakes and hugs and hints of tears, and the clapping and cheering continued for several minutes, prompting one Fine Gael official to remark: “Our man is coming in at quarter past seven. We’ll f**kin’ lift the roof, I tell ya.”

After Mr McEntee and party leader Enda Kenny made their way through the throngs of supporters into the hall, both men were hoisted on to supporters’ shoulders. The returning officer was attempting to declare the final outcome, but she would have to wait.

Fine Gael had retained the seat vacated by former leader John Bruton, and was intent on crowning its new king in the Royal County in the most boisterous of political traditions.