First elected to Dáil Éireann in a byelection in Cork North Central in 2019 after sitting Fianna Fáil TD Billy Kelleher became an MEP, Padraig O’Sullivan (40) comfortably held the seat a year later in the general election, with 8,158 first preferences in the then four seat constituency,
A native of Little Island in East Cork, Mr O’Sullivan’s first foray into national politics was when he ran as an Independent under the New Vision banner in Cork North Central where he won just 1,020 votes or 1.96 per cent of the vote.
He later joined Fianna Fáil and was twice elected to Cork County Council.
A former secondary school teacher, Mr O’Sullivan lives in Glanmire with his wife Bernie, and their three young children and he paid tribute to her in an interview in 2022, saying she does “a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of looking after the kids” given his life as a TD.
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