QUITE a few of them shouted "Tanaiste" at him. Some even ventured the words "real Taoiseach". But the sound which emanated from most of the entourage which carried Willie O'Dea out of the counting centre was something which resembled the warwhoop of the Cherokee.
This time not only did O'Dea top the poll in Limerick East with more than 12,500 first preferences but he brought in one of his running mates, Eddie Wade from Castleconnell, to give Fianna Fail two seats in a constituency which until this election had been the heartland of the Progressive Democrats, Fine Gael's war whoops, as might be expected, were somewhat more refined when the returning officer announced that Michael Noonan had made it on the first count with more than 10,000 votes.
Wade was certain of the third seat but the fight for the two remaining places in the 28th Dail was up for grabs, The Progressive Democrats and Labour votes had collapsed, with John Ryan of Democratic Left threatening to oust either Des O'Malley or Jim Kemmy. The much heralded challenge of National Party leader, Nora Bennis, came to nothing, or more precisely to 1,500 votes, 300 less than the number two candidates for Labour and the PD's, Jan O'Sullivan and Eddie Creighton, who both crossed the 1,800 mark.
The democratic process continued, and Des O'Malley, whose first preference vote had dropped to 4,358, was slowly creeping out of trouble, gaining transfers from all sides, But it was a had night for the PDs who even before the election was called, were resigning themselves to the loss of their second seat upon the retirement of Peadar Clohessy.
The final seat was now being fought out by Ryan, Kemmy and Fine Gael's second string Mary Jackman, and Jim Kemmy, in true Labour tradition, inched his way up from 2,700 first preferences to an 11th count total of 7,173 to take the fifth seat.
All the while the lines were open to Limerick West where an extraordinary split was overturning the traditional two to one result for Fianna Fail. Michael Brennan from Adare and John Gallahue from Bailylanders defected from Fianna Fail to fight as Independents, and the tallying in from the big parties got a shock when they arrived at the count centre to find that the men from the foot of the Galtee Mountains had already arrived to take the best spots.
As the count wore on the only smiles came from M.J. Collins brother of the outgoing former foreign minister Gerard Collins and the patrician figure of Fine Gael's senator Dan Neville who were not involved in the three way battle for the last seat.
