Galway East’s four seats have been claimed by Seán Canney (Independent), Albert Dolan (Fianna Fáil), Louis O’Hara (Sinn Féin) and Pete Roche (Fine Gael).
Outgoing Minister for State Anne Rabbitte (FF) was the surprise elimination in the constituency, having sat in the Dáil since 2016. There was a strong performance from Independent Ireland’s Declan Geraghty, who fell short in the 11th and final count.
Mr Dolan and Mr O’Hara are big winners for Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. The pair attended the same school, Presentation College Athenry, and have both represented their parties on Galway County Council.
Alongside Clodagh Higgins and Niamh Madden, Mr Roche was one of three candidates Fine Gael ran in an attempt to target the newly added fourth seat in Galway East. The strategy was ultimately unsuccessful, but Mr Roche benefitted from a large number of inter-party transfers to claim his seat comfortably at the 11th count.
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Three of the four elected candidates are new to the Dáil, with Mr Canney the only outgoing TD to retain his seat. He, Mr Dolan and Mr Roche all met the 10,843 vote quota, while Mr O’Hara was elected with 10,078 votes.
