Michael McDowell SC, former justice minister, has made history by being the first member elected to the 27th Seanad. He achieved this milestone at midnight on the first count, with the election results showing other candidates lagging far behind. Outgoing Senators Ronán Mullen and Alice Mary Higgins follow closely, but their combined votes are still not enough to catch McDowell. The vote splitting among Green party candidates has negatively impacted their chances, particularly for Katherine Zappone who seems unlikely to secure a seat in this election.
The only question is how many counts it takes before Michael McDowell - elected at midnight on the first count - is joined by outgoing Senators Ronán Mullen and Alice Mary Higgins, the President's daughter.
The quota is just over 9,000 votes. By the second count Mr Mullen had 8,175 votes and Ms Higgins 7,350. Nearest challenger Eva Dowling had 3,413, in other words nearly 3,000 votes in arrears - an unbridgeable gap.
At the Trinity count, it appears former Cabinet minister Katherine Zappone is unlikely to get elected, while former minister Ossian Smyth and Hazel Chu have split the Green vote between them.
Collection
[
|
...
]