'I ran as a protest' — Disability campaigner Dr Tom Clonan elected to Seanad

Dr Clonan was ahead of Ms Gaffney by just 160 votes after the 16th count on Thursday evening, following a day of counting. Norma Burke /PA Wire

Newly elected Senator Dr Tom Clonan has admitted he did not think he would be elected, but he is now determined to maximise the opportunities to promote the causes with which he has been involved for over 20 years.

The former army officer and disability campaigner was announced as the winner of the election on Thursday night.

Dr Clonan beat psychologist Maureen Gaffney in the Trinity College panel by-election triggered by the election of Ivana Bacik to the Dáil last summer.

Dr Clonan was ahead of Ms Gaffney by just 160 votes after the 16th count on Thursday evening, following a day of counting.

It was a “nail biting contest” and a “baptism of fire” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

“I didn’t think I’d win at all. I ran as a protest."

Dr Clonan said that his son Eoghan, who is a student at Dublin Business School and has a neuromuscular disability, was his campaign manager. 

When Eoghan had been diagnosed Dr Clonan it was “like Alice falling through the looking glass” as the family moved into a parallel world where they had to fight “for really poor services”. 

He said Ireland was “one of the worst countries in the EU” for disability care and services. 

We can do better. I want to make things better.

Dr Clonan said he did not know how long the current Dáil would last, but for its duration he intended to “make some noise” about radical campaigns and to have an impact. He said he could achieve more by being in the place where people make decisions.

“It’s great to be inside, not outside the gates," he said.  

The security analyst and disability campaigner said he had voted for Seanad reform, but had never thought he would be elected to the institution himself. 

He said he hoped the Government would fulfil its promise of reform. 

He said “the Senate is very important” as it had the power to hold the Government to account, not to allow the support of vulture funds which eroded public services.

The Seanad election saw high-profile candidates former Dublin lord mayor Hazel Chu and former Irish rugby star Hugo MacNeill eliminated before the final count. 

Dr Clonan ended up with 5,358 votes to Ms Gaffney's 5,198. The pair had taken 1,947 and 1,882 first preferences, respectively.

In total, 13,434 votes were cast, a turnout of just 19.8% of the electorate — which is open to just under 68,000 registered graduates of the university.

Speaking this morning, Dr Clonan expressed disappointment at this fact. 

As a Trinity College graduate, he said he "was a member of a very privileged group". 

“The most progressive community in the country didn’t vote. All they had to do was pop it in the post," he said.