Sinn Féin tipped for shock election gain in north-west

SINN FÉIN is set to pull off a major surprise in the new three-seat Sligo-North Leitrim constituency, the latest Red C opinion poll has revealed.

The poll, commissioned by the Sligo Weekender and published today, shows that the veteran Sinn Féin candidate Sean MacManus is in strong contention to win the seat being vacated by independent Marian Harkin.

After Ms Harkin announced she was staying in Europe and after the redrawing of the constituency, a consensus emerged that the battle for the last seat would be between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

However, both parties are attracting 36% (FF) and 35% (FG) of support cumulatively, which would not be enough to guarantee either two seats.

Mr MacManus is attracting 14% of support in the Sligo Weekender poll but it also shows him consistently picking up transfers from eliminated candidates, including Labour’s Jim McGarry; Independent Andy “The Bull” McSharry; and Fianna Fáil’s Eamon Scanlon. On the basis of the Red C poll, Mr MacManus would get elected on the sixth count.

Fianna Fáil’s standard-bearer Jimmy Devins attracts an impressive 24% which would see him almost get elected on the first count. However, his running mate Mr Scanlon, based in Ballymote, will be disappointed with his support of only 12%, leaving him with too much ground to make up.

Likewise, Fine Gael TD John Perry, also from Ballymote, polls strongly with 18% of support. However, the other two FG candidates are laggings some distance behind — the only Leitrim candidate Michael Comiskey is at 11% while Sligo-town candidate Imelda Henry is on just 6%. On those figures, neither would be a realistic contender for a seat.

Another surprise finding is the strong showing for “The Bull” McSharry. The landowner who came to national attention because of his high-profile “no trespass” campaigns is attracting 8% of support.

John Bromley, of the Sligo Weekender, said that Sean MacManus’s strong showing was not entirely unexpected.

“This is his fourth general election. He has a strong personal vote, was mayor of Sligo twice and is very much seen as a moderate within Sinn Féin,” he said.

“People here thought that Marian Harkin took a lot of his potential votes in 2002 and they are now returning to him.”