Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy has been elected to the 34th Dáil for Cork East.
Mr McCarthy (63), had served as a councillor for 15 years, first for the Labour Party before switching to Fine Gael.
Originally from Cobh but now living in Fermoy, it will be the first time that Fermoy has a TD in 33 years and Cobh in 27 years, he said.
“They felt they hadn’t a voice. I want to be that voice for them and take their issues to national government,” he said.
A previous attempt to run for the Dáil in 2016 was unsuccessful but he said that he “learned a lot” from that attempt.
A small business owner, Mr McCarthy runs an off-licence in Fermoy.
He was first elected to Cork County Council for the Labour Party in 2009.
He was re-elected in 2014, topping the poll in Fermoy.