Stephen Donnelly: ‘I don’t like Fine Gael’s Ireland’

It was a case of the last shall be first in Wicklow-East Carlow as Stephen Donnelly, who took the final seat as an Independent in 2011, topped the poll to take the first seat with a surplus as a Social Democrat this time out.

The trend continued with Sinn Féin’s John Brady taking the second seat after he lost out to Donnelly by just 112 votes in 2011.

The make-up of the five-seater has now changed from three Fine Gael seats, one Labour and one Independent to two Fine Gael, one Sinn Féin, one Social Democrat and one Fianna Fáil.