Setback for Sinn Féin as Crowe loses out
In one of the first shocks of the day, Sean Crowe lost his seat in Dublin South West in the face of a buoyant Fianna Fáil vote and the strong showing of Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes.
Mr Crowe, who topped the poll in 2002, was not expected to lose his seat. However, on a day when the smaller parties were squeezed by the two biggest party, his fate was typical of his colleagues within SF.
The party had high hopes of making gains in both Donegal constituencies and in three Dublin constituencies, North West, North East and Central. In the event, its candidates were eclipsed by a surprisingly strong showing in Donegal — Pearse Doherty and Padraig Mac Lochlainn losing out to Dinny McGinley and Joe McHugh — the surprise poll topper in Donegal North East.
The party’s most identifiable figure in the south, Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald was expected to put in a very strong challenge in Dublin Central where SF came within 74 votes of a seat five years ago. However, she attracted a little under 10% of first preferences, leaving her — at the time of writing — with a marginal chance of taking the last seat.
Elsewhere in Dublin, the expected breakthrough of veteran candidates Dessie Ellis in Dublin North West and Larry O’Toole in Dublin North East did not materialise.
As he arrived in the RDS last night, Gerry Adams accepted that the results had been a setback.
“I think our people fought a very good campaign. We were clearly squeezed in the surge for Fianna Fáil. The people decided I think only in the last week who they wanted for Taoiseach and they wanted Bertie Ahern,” he said.
“I lost a seat myself in west Belfast, and we came back and we’ll come back again,” Mr Adams said.
Mary Lou McDonald said she was disappointed. “When it came down to it was about who the people wanted for Taoiseach. And the people overwhelmingly made it clear that that person is Bertie Ahern,” she said.
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