Green recovery will require careful cultivation

An early flurry of electoral successes in Dublin prompted talk of green shoots for the Green Party but the countrywide count cautioned that careful cultivation would be required.

The excitement was unleashed when former minister Eamon Ryan polled strongly in the Euro elections with signs pointing towards him taking the third seat in the constituency.

Together with tallies showing a fine performance by newcomer Grace O’Sullivan in the South constituency, it was enough to make Greens believe that perhaps the horror story of the last five years could be consigned to history.