Labour thrives as FG suffers
A surprise resurgent support for Fianna Fáil also saw young councillor David McGuinness come close to taking back the seat for his party, left vacant by the death of former minister Brian Lenihan.
Nulty, aged 27, now becomes Labour’s youngest TD in the Dáil after winning 24.3% (8,665) of first preference votes in the constituency.
Fine Gael will have been left disappointed after councillor Eithne Loftus was eliminated after the third count in Citywest last night, claiming just 5,263 of first preference votes.
Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes, director of elections, conceded it was a bad day for the coalition party.
But a last-minute battle for second place was played out between FF’s McGuinness and the Socialist Party’s Ruth Coppinger last night, after just 18 votes separated the two candidates on the fourth count.
McGuinness, 25, had run an energetic campaign and managed to sweep up 21.7% of first-preference votes, about five points more than FF had there in February’s general election.
Party leader Micheál Martin said the music teacher was an “example of the renewal that was taking place” within the embattled party.
But after the fourth count and with Ms Coppinger facing elimination, she sought a recount of bundles between the last three competitors.
Earlier, Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly came fifth claiming 8.9% or 3,173 of first preference votes while lawyer and Green candidate Roderic O’Gorman followed in sixth with 1,787 votes. The first count saw all seven non-party candidates eliminated.
Labour’s victory in Dublin West brings to 38 the number of party TDs in the Dáil.
Speaking as counting continued last night, Nulty said: “It’s important to remember that the seat does not belong to any person or any party.
“I thank the people of Dublin West for lending me their vote and I want to honour that,” he said.
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