Griffin grabs Sheahan’s seat while O’Donoughue bows out

A STUNNING poll-topping triumph by first-time Fine Gael candidate Brendan Griffin was the big story of the general election in the key Kerry South constituency, but his success came at the expense of his party colleague Tom Sheahan who was gutted to lose his seat.

A Fine Gael push to win an unprecedented two of the three seats on offer in the traditional Fianna Fáil stronghold fell just short with Sheahan edged out in a dramatic sixth and final count by Michael Healy-Rae who succeeds his father, Jackie, in the Dáil.

The other big winner in the Kerry South battleground was veteran Kerry County Council member Tom Fleming who dropped a bombshell when he severed his lifelong ties with Fianna Fáil to run as an independent, and his decision to do so cost former cabinet minister John O’Donoghue his seat.