Cork South West makes history by electing its first female TD

History was made in Cork South West with the election of the constituency’s first female TD, with Margaret Murphy O’Mahony’s win also matching the national pattern of a resurgent Fianna Fáil vote.

The 47-year-old from Bandon topped the poll and finished ahead of Michael Collins, an Independent county councillor from Schull who repeated his pledge to team up with the likes of the Healy-Raes’ across the county bounds in Kerry to deliver for his native West Cork.

The Fianna Fáil/Independent one-two left Fine Gael’s Jim Daly as the only outgoing Dáil member to hold on his seat and, immediately after he was elected, the Clonakilty-based TD claimed his party should take to the opposition benches.