Party share of first preference votes in 1994:
Fianna Fail , 42.48 per cent; Fine Gael Progressive Democrats , 9.12 per cent; 8.52 per cent; Sinn Fein , 5.99 per cent; Green Party , 3.71 per cent; Natural Law Party , 0.53 per cent.
Electorate in 1994 : 496,352 (turnout: 237,601)
Pat "The Cope" Gallagher (Fianna Fail). Based in Dungloe in west Donegal, he has been an MEP since 1994 when he topped the poll. The seat was formerly held by Mr Neil Blaney. He was a Dail deputy from 1981 to 1997 and is a former minister of State for the marine and the Gaeltacht.
Noel Treacy (Fianna Fail). From Athenry, Co Galway, he is the present Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Science and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. He was first elected to the Dail in 1982. He will be aiming to take over the seat of the sitting Fianna Fail MEP, Mark Killilea, who is retiring.
Joe McCartin (Fine Gael). Based in Leitrim, Mr McCartin is the State's longest-serving MEP, having been first elected in 1979. He was a member of the Dail from 1967 to 1987 and has also been a member of the Seanad. He is the only Fine Gael candidate on this occasion.
Ger Gibbons (Labour). The 32-year-old from Tuam, Co Galway, is contesting his first election after spending the past nine years working in Brussels as a European Affairs adviser. He has also worked with the European Commission and as an adviser to the Dublin MEP, Bernie Malone. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager.
Sean MacManus (Sinn Fein). A member of Sligo Corporation since 1994, he contested the Dail election in 1997 and secured 8 per cent of the vote in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency. A former national chairman of Sinn Fein, he has been on the party's national executive for 17 years. He is a full-time public representative.
Dana Rosemary Scallon (Independent). The former Eurovision Song Contest winner who surprised everybody with her performance in the 1997 presidential election. On that occasion she polled more than 41,000 first-preference votes in the constituencies that comprise Connacht-Ulster.
Marian Harkin (Independent). Based in Sligo, she is best known as the former chairwoman of the Council for the West, the lobby group which campaigns for the economic development of the western region, and for her part in the campaign for the retention of Objective 1 status for the west, Border and midlands regions. She is a maths teacher by profession.
Father Liam Sharkey (Independent). The first priest to contest an election in the State, Father Sharkey (58) has worked as a Catholic curate in a number of different parishes in the western region since his ordination in 1967. He has also worked as a career guidance teacher and is currently based in the parish of Highwood, Co Sligo. He believes the "Celtic Tiger" economy has left behind many people, particularly in rural Ireland. He does stand for traditional Catholic values, but will not be campaigning on issues such as abortion.
"Ming" Luke Flanagan (Independent). Ming is best-known for his campaigns to have cannabis legalised, which at times have landed him in trouble with the law. He believes "all prohibited substances" should be legalised as a means of solving the drugs problem and supports regionalisation and a range of Green policies. He is based in Galway.
Paul Raymond (Independent Green). A Dubliner who now lives near Ballinasloe, Co Galway, he works in the recycling industry. He has also worked with a number of anti-dump campaign groups in the area, and argues that if proper recycling was imposed, there would be no need for either super-dumps or incinerators.
Paul Campbell (Natural Law Party). Based in Galway, the 34-year-old trained as an engineer but is now self-employed in direct marketing. He stood for NLP in Galway East in the last general election. Like all NLP candidates, he is arguing that group practice of TM and yogic flying can help bring peace to the Balkans.