Daniel McConnell: By-election defeat a wake-up call for Varadkar and Martin

The stunning win by Ivana Bacik is in itself a story worth telling, but the fallout for the three government parties cannot be ignored

Fine Gael candidate James Geoghegan, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, and TD Simon Harris arriving at the count centre for the Dublin Bay South by-election at Simmonscourt, RDS in Ballsbridge, Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

In 2013, then-taoiseach Enda Kenny received as he called it a "wallop" from the Irish people when they rejected his attempt to abolish the Seanad.

He and his government were left humiliated just two years into office.