Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Casey (54), a hotelier from Glendalough, was a first-time general election candidate for the party. With a track record in community activity and local GAA, he won a council seat 2004 as an Independent candidate on the basis that the area had no elected representative. Three years later he joined Fianna Fáil and unsuccessfully challenged Dick Roche to stand for the party in 2011. Following the party's disastrous performance, the county was left without a Fianna Fáil TD or Senator. Casey, who was married last year, became chairman of Wicklow County Council in 2012-2013. He says the on-the-ground campaigning on issues such as housing, jobs and water charges helped win support in recent years.