In with the old as Fianna Fáil rehabilitation bites back

Out with the new and in with the old, the phenomenally rapid rehabilitation of Fianna Fáil that caught so many unawares was eloquently summed up by a disconsolate Jerry Buttimer, writes Catherine Shanahan

“I never thought they’d be back in the front room drinking out of the china set,” he said. Legs under the kitchen table maybe, but surely a deep cleanse was in order before taking tea in the good room?

Yet what you got in Cork was a poll-topping performance by the party in three out of five constituencies. In Cork North Central, Billy Kelleher romped home with furlongs to spare, recording a 13% hike in his first preference votes compared to 2011. In Cork South Central, party leader Micheál Martin and finance spokesman Michael McGrath sailed through on the first count, increasing Fianna Fáil’s first preference vote in the constituency by 13.6% in the process (adjusted for boundary changes).