‘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.

With the quota set at 129,290, however, Mr Flanagan had to wait until after 6pm for the second count before he was officially elected.

The transfers which followed the elimination of Cordelia Nic Fhearraigh (Fís Nua), TJ Fay (Ind), Niamh Fitzgerald (Ind), Ben Gilroy (Direct Democracy Ireland) and Mark Deary (Green Party) propelled Mr Flanagan past the finishing post to a historic victory.

The timbers and furniture of Castlebar’s Royal TF Hotel trembled such was the outpouring of joy at the Roscommon man’s success.

“Attaboy Luke, Bogman Ming is heading to Brussels,” roared one supporter in a reference to the candidate’s reputation as a champion of turf-cutters.

Once the scrum around him had broken up, one of the first to give him a congratulatory hug was one of his opponents, sitting MEP Máiréad McGuinness (FG).

With 92,080. first preferences, Ms McGuinness was assured of re-election.

So was first timer, Matt Carthy of Sinn Féin, who came second to Mr Flanagan in first preferences commanding 114,727 votes.

Left in a kind of political ‘limbo’ by the first count results were sitting MEPs, Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher (FF) and Marian Harkin (Ind).

They had to wait until today to know when their fate would be decided.

Well down the field on the first count, with less than 40,000 first preferences, was Mayo- based MEP Mr Higgins.

Mr Higgins is now gone from politics after a career, which began when he was elected to Mayo County Council in the 1970s, spanning nearly 50 years.

After the first count had underlined his lowly position on the vote table, Mr Higgins conceded defeat saying he was looking forward now to spending time with his family and “improving my golf handicap”.

He remarked philosophically: “I’m going to enjoy smelling the roses”.

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