Who is Sean Kyne? All you need to know about Galway's newest TD

Kyne was first elected to Galway County Council in 2004. Picture: Ray Ryan

Just 18 months after announcing his retirement from politics and six years after losing his seat and being sentenced to a stint in the Seanad, Sean Kyne has regained a spot in the Dáil.

In a major boost for Fine Gael and Tánaiste Simon Harris, Mr Kyne on Sunday evening overcame Independent Ireland candidate Noel Thomas in a tightly contested by-election to nab a seat in Galway West.

The Moycullen man has been a public representative for over two decades but has found himself at the mercy of the electorate on several occasions.

He was first elected to Galway County Council in 2004 and ran unsuccessfully in both the Dáil and Seanad elections in 2007.

He was first elected as a TD for Galway West in 2011, in a dramatic election that saw two full recounts. He eventually won the seat by just 17 votes, defeating a little-known candidate called Catherine Connolly.

He has now won her seat following her election as president last November.

After keeping his seat in the 2016 election, he was appointed as junior minister for the Gaeltacht under then-taoiseach Enda Kenny.

When Leo Varadkar took the reins of Fine Gael in 2017, he was reappointed to his position and later became Government Chief Whip in 2018.

He lost his seat in the 2020 election and was appointed by Mr Varadkar to the Seanad.

He later contested the 2024 general election, and once again failed to win a seat in the Dáil. Several days after the election, he announced he was retiring from politics.

However, just three weeks later, he dramatically u-turned and confirmed he would actually run again for the Seanad again.

Now, nearly 18 months to the day after announcing his intention to leave politics, Sean Kyne has regained his Dáil seat and is a TD once again.