Independent Michael Collins (61) surprised many when he took 15.64 per cent of the vote.
But with a high profile as a member of the Rural Independents grouping in the Dáil from organising buses to take patients to Belfast for cataract procedures, he was guaranteed to do well.
No stranger to poll topping, he hit the number one spot on entering the local elections in 2014 for the county council in the West Cork electoral area.
The quintessential local TD, most of his questions and contributions have focused on issues linked to the constituency.
And he is not afraid to get involved in the mudslinging when rows erupt in the Dáil chamber.
When the Taoiseach criticised fellow Independent TD Noel Grealish over his claims that African migrants were “sponging off the system”, Collins defended his right to raise the issue.
A father of three children, he is a dry stock cattle farmer from Lowerton, west of Schull. Active across a range of community platforms for the past 30 years.
