‘Forgotten county’ delivers a sharp reality check to all

“I CARRY the spirit of Michael Collins here with me,” loser Fine Gael candidate Barry O’Neill declared, and he was right — but only in the sense that he’d just been assassinated by an audacious Sinn Féin ambush.

The self-styled ‘Forgotten County’ of Donegal delivered a message to remember to all the main parties — and it’s a message none of them will like hearing.

The result may have been dire for Fianna Fáil, but it was also very bad news for Fine Gael and Labour.