‘Bogman’ Ming Brussels-bound as Higgins bows out

As fledgling candidate Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan took wing for Europe, veteran MEP Jim Higgins acknowledged he was poised to make his Euro exit.

“I’m off to smell the roses,” the Mayo candidate philosophically declared last night after returning officer Fintan Murphy had announced the first count result in the sprawling Midlands-North West constituency at the count centre in Castlebar.

Mr Flanagan, a TD for Roscommon, commanded a huge first-preference vote of 124,063, surprising even his most ardent supporters.