Third South seat will come down to a dogfight

EVERYBODY is expecting a dogfight in the European elections for the third of the three seats in the South, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expected to keep their seats in the constituency.

Fine Gael sees it as an opportunity to gain two seats, sitting MEP Kathy Sinnott is hoping to repeat her performance of 2004 and retain her seat, Labour’s Alan Kelly believes the seat’s his, and Sinn Féin’s Toireasa Ferris says she is in with a chance.

As in all cliff-hangers of this kind, everything will depend on who is the first of the hard hitters to be eliminated, with the transfers largely deciding the outcome of the third seat.